Checkpoint regarding VMs?

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Hi :

Correct me if I am wrong when it comes to VMs (virtual marchines) when comes to checkpoint, is it safe to say that Checkpoints are similar to restore points like in Windows?

Dan L,

Hey Daniel,

This is a great question, however there are differences between the two, let's see if we can help and maybe some of the other Edutainers will offer some advice as well. A system restore point is like a VM snapshot in the fact that they both capture system state (OS configuration state), however that is where the similarities stop. The System Restore application will capture system state (Registry backup, COM+ Registration Objects[database], boot files, files protected by Windows File Protection[WFP]), but does not capture any user files, applications or application settings. A VM snapshot will create a point in time copy of the entire drive state (this is a bit-by-bit copy of everything). You can use a restore point to restore the OS configuration (only) to an earlier point in time. This will uninstall all drivers that were not included at the time of the restore point and reinstall all drivers that were included in the restore point. The same applies to applications as well. Now with VM snapshots, they will restore the state of the entire drive to the point in time that the VM snapshot was created. This includes EVERYTHING, all applications/app configuration, OS settings, user files. So while they have characteristics that are similar they are used for different purposes based on what information they capture. I hope this helps and maybe other will chime in.

Hey @Daniel-Loyer ,

Just want to add that with Hyper-V, there are two types of checkpoints we can use on virtual machines, production checkpoints and standard checkpoints.

Standard checkpoints capture the state, data, and hardware configuration of a running virtual machine, basically everything. Hyper-V uses saved state technology to "take a picture" of the VM. Even open files with changes that haven't been saved are captured. If the machine was running, with notepad open, when the checkpoint was taken, then the machine will be running and notepad will be open when the checkpoint is restored. These are great for labs and testing purposes.

Production checkpoints are "point in time" images of a virtual machine, They rely on VSS within the virtual machine. They do not capture the CPU or application state or the contents of memory. These are like the restore points in Windows. Even if the machine was running, with notepad open, when the checkpoint was taken, the machine will be off and all unsaved data would be lost when the checkpoint was restored. Any files created, applications installed, drivers installed, etc. would be undone. These are more like the Windows restore points, but not exactly. Restore points don't remove user files.