[libvirt-users] Problem executing VM backups

[Dominique Ramaekers]

>Van: libvirt-users-bounces at redhat.com [mailto:libvirt-users-bounces at redhat.com] Namens Phill Edwards
>Verzonden: vrijdag 24 juni 2016 5:39
>Aan: Kashyap Chamarthy
>CC: libvirt-users at redhat.com; Markus Ellinger
>Onderwerp: Re: [libvirt-users] Problem executing VM backups
>
>
>> > Does this only work for qcow2 images, or will it also work for LVM images?
>>
>> If your root backing file is raw (I tested this just now, again) or LVM,
>> it should work just fine.  And the overlays will _have_ to be qcow2
>> files.
>All my VM images are raw format on LVM volumes (hope I'm using the right terminology here). I don't use backing/overlay images. So  this should work for me.
>I currently use LVM snapshots as part of my backup process. Does anyone see any pros and cons of the active block commit method in this thread vs using LVM >snapshots (which are very quick to create)?

It’s not difficult to use external snapshots. Just follow the info: http://wiki.libvirt.org/page/Live-disk-backup-with-active-blockcommit

For me the main advantage is the ‘quiesce’ option. With this option, the guest disk caches are flushed and the guest file system is freezed until the snapshot is created. This ensures data integrity of your disk. I think there can still a risk on databases though…