We have given our users privilege to take snapshots. But now it is uncontrollable and people started taking meaningless snapshots and never deleting it.
Due to this we are facing performance issue, Disk space overloaded issue and etc.
I would like to prevent users from taking snapshots beyond certain limit.
For example. Users may not be allowed to take more than 3 snapshots .
How to achieve this? ( We are using ESXi 4 and ESXi 4.1 and VMware Vsphere )
If it can't be prevented , atleast is there a mechanism to alert me when user creating more than 3 snapshots?
Best Answer
In the short term, I recommend you remove the ability for your users to take snapshots, and have them put in an email/ticket request for a snapshot.
In the long term, I recommend you look into workflow automation that will give you more control over snapshots.
PowerCLI - Create a small script that allows a user to take snapshots, but limits the amount of snapshots. Also, you should absolutely run a scheduled script to clean up snapshots older than 24 hours old. You can also put a GUI on your scripts if your users are scared of the command line.
vCenter Orchestrator - Create easy to use graphical workflows for your users to manage snapshots. Harder to set up, but the possibilities at that point are endless.