Creating snapshot images for virtual application instances

You can create a snapshot image to store the current state of the virtual application instance.

Before you begin

You can later use the snapshot image to partially restore your virtual application instance to the stored state.

You must be granted access to the virtual application instance or have the Workload resources administration with Full permission role to complete this task.

Note: You cannot create a snapshot or this action is not available if:

You are not a hardware administrator with permission to Manage hardware resources (Full permission)
You are not a user with minimum write permissions and not assigned to the instance.

About this task

Using the snapshot function, you are able to store the state information for each of the virtual machines in the virtual application instance as it is running. You can use this snapshot image to restore these virtual machines in the virtual application instance to their states that existed when the snapshot was taken. Be aware of the following conditions:

By restoring the virtual application instance through a snapshot image, the current state of the virtual application instance is lost.
You can create only one snapshot image for each virtual machine.
The snapshot image is processed individually for each virtual machine in your instance, so it is not consistent across the virtual machines. If you want a consistent snapshot, stop your instance before creating the snapshot.
When you create a snapshot image for a virtual application instance that already has a snapshot image that is stored, the existing snapshot is removed.
Any virtual machines that are added to the virtual application instance after the snapshot image is taken are still present after you restore the virtual application instance to its previously stored state.
The snapshot is always written to the existing volume for the virtual machine. If the storage volume for the virtual machine is low on disk space, you might receive the following error message when creating a snapshot:
```
CWZIP2437E The requested storage_volume does not have enough free capacity for the volume
```
The error occurs even if there is enough space remaining on V7000, as the snapshots cannot be stored outside of the virtual machine directory.
Snapshots are intended for use as a restore point if a problem occurs during a planned update to the virtual system instance, such as maintenance. They are not intended for long-term use. Delete the snapshot after the maintenance is complete.
You can take snapshots of virtual application instances with internal or external block storage; however, the block storage is not captured or restored with the snapshot.

Note: You cannot take a snapshot of application instances that have block shared volumes.

Procedure

Click Patterns > Virtual Application Instances.
Select the virtual application instance for which you want to create a snapshot.
Click Create a snapshot to take a snapshot image of the current state of the selected virtual application instance.
When the snapshot is successfully created, it is listed in the Snapshots section.
Note: The snapshot image is not consistent across locations in a multisystem environment.
Optional: You can add a description for the snapshot image by clicking Type description and entering your text. Then, click Enter to store the description.

Results

After you complete these steps, you have a snapshot image available to restore the state of the virtual machines in the virtual application instance to their stored state. Any virtual machines that are added after the snapshot image is taken are unaffected by the restore operation.

What to do next

You can continue working with your virtual application instance, and if needed at some later time, you can restore your virtual application instance by using the snapshot image.