Virsh snapshot-create-as

virsh snapshot-create-as domain^[1] {[--print-xml] | [--no-metadata] [--halt] [--reuse-external]} [name] [description] [--disk-only [--quiesce]] [--atomic] [[--live] [--memspec memspec]] [--diskspec] diskspec]...

virsh snapshot-create-as ^[2]

--diskspec To indicate external snapshot and location

--disk-only Do not save memory information

--atomic

--no-metadata snapshot data is created, but any metadata is discarded (so libvirt does not treat the snapshot as current, and cannot revert to the snapshot unless virsh snapshot-create is used to teach libvirt about discarded metadata information). Useful if you plan to merge snapshots otherwise at a later point you have to explicitly clean the libvirt metadata (by invoking: virsh snapshot-delete vm1 --metadata [name|--current])^[3] (See also: virsh snapshot-list)

--reuse-external (2012)^[4]

Examples

virsh snapshot-create-as --domain MY_VM --name "Snapshot_2019_08" --description "Snapshot before critical operation" --live

Take a Disk state (--disk-only) (not memory) from a running VM (--live)

 virsh snapshot-create-as --domain MY_VM --name "Snapshot_disk_only_2019_08_MY_VM" --description "Disk snapshot only to disk" --disk-only --live --atomic

^[5]

Create a external snapshot --diskspec option, also using --no-metadata

virsh snapshot-create-as --domain MY_VM --name "napshot_disk_only_2019_08_MY_VM" --description "Disk snapshot only to disk" --disk-only --no-metadata --atomic --diskspec $TARGET,snapshot=external

Errors:

error: unsupported configuration: external snapshot file for disk hdXX already exists and is not a block device

Use virsh snapshot-list VMNAME to view snapshots

Other options

--no-metadata creates the snapshot, but any metadata is immediately discarded (that is, libvirt does not treat the snapshot as current, and cannot revert to the snapshot unless --redefine is later used to teach libvirt about the metadata again).

--atomic Libvirt will guarantee that the snapshot either succeeds, or fails with no changes.^[6]

--quiesce Libvirt will try to use guest agent to freeze and unfreeze domain’s mounted file systems. However, if domain has no guest agent, snapshot creation will fail. ^[7]

error: argument unsupported: QEMU guest agent is not configured^[8] (See: virsh edit)

virsh snapshot-create --validate added in Libvirt v5.6.0 August 2019