Linux KVM Virtualization Manual Low-Level Guest Export/Import Procedure

Internal

• Linux Virtualization Operations

Create a Snapshot Image

If the virtual machine has more than one storage device attached, they all must be snapshot at the same time to produce a consistent snapshot that can be reverted to.

Procedure

Shutdown the Target Guest

virsh shutdown <vm-name>

Identify all Storage Devices

virsh dumpxml <vm-name>

Look for <disk> definitions. The disk definition specifies the source and the format of the virtual storage device. Example:

<disk type='file' device='disk'>
    <driver name='qemu' type='qcow2'/>
    <source file='/main-storage-pool/appproxy.qcow2'/>
    ...
</disk>

Snapshot Each Storage Device

qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b /main-storage-pool/appproxy.qcow2 /tmp/snapshot.