On 06/17/2015 03:32 AM, Robert Heller wrote: > If host is using LVM for disk partitioning and uses logical volumes for VM > disks, it is possible to do LVM 'snapshots' and these snapshots can then be > backed up, all without shutting down the VMs. Note that making an LVM snapshot, alone, will not provide a consistent image for a backup. If you want to back up a snapshot of a running system, you should use "virsh snapshot-create" to capture the complete state of the system. http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/tip/Getting-a-clear-picture-on-KVM-snapshot-basics Backups from within the guest will typically be much smaller. I'm working on a flexible snapshot script that supports multiple storage types. https://bitbucket.org/gordonmessmer/dragonsdawn-snapshot