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I can't seem to find a clear answer on this.

Is it safe or not safe to snapshot (or in my case checkpoint under HV 2012) an SBS or single DC server environment? I took over an account and am behind on patches by about a year and would LOVE to be able to create a snapshot before doing this.

Thanks!

Mike66350216
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1 Answers1

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With a no-fooling, you seriously double-checked, please go check again, single DC forest, there's no AD replication, so there's few risks of restoring that single DC if everything goes bad. So, for that very specific purpose, taking a snapshot is not a terrible idea.

There are always risks of retaining snapshots longer than x, where 'x' is usually considered 1 day, but may be much shorter depending on IO volume. So don't do that; snapshots are only for instant rollback or temporary storage of backup data destined for other, permanent media. As soon as the target guest has been confirmed OK, delete/consolidate that snapshot.

You should also take a full backup using your normal method. A method that you have tested performing restores from, in case other things go pear-shaped. Because you have this method in place already, right?

mfinni
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  • Yes we an onsite appliance doing whole server replication but I just wanted to conform nothing is 'hurt' by creating the snapshot/checkpoint on SBS (or single DC environments). I've read reports that this should never be done but I've read reports where some people it. I understand USN rollback issues. Just trying to keep my patching nights down to a minumum :) Thanks! – Mike66350216 Jun 06 '14 at 19:07
  • and I would only use it should the server not boot after patches for example. – Mike66350216 Jun 06 '14 at 19:07
  • Well, as I said, there's two issues with snapshots. One is, restoration of a DC from a snapshot will put your AD in a world of hurt in a multi-DC environment, so don't - issue is NA for your scenario. The other is, snapshots can be horribly abused (for any server) and if not cleaned up, will hurt IO performance badly. – mfinni Jun 06 '14 at 19:09
  • Thank you for the details response. Non multi DC environment - Check. Keep checkpoints/snaphots from aging - Check. I should be good to go then. Thanks! – Mike66350216 Jun 06 '14 at 19:38