Create Checkpoint

Important

This version of Orchestrator has reached the end of support. We recommend you to upgrade to Orchestrator 2022.

The Create Checkpoint is used to save the state of a virtual hard disk that is attached to a virtual machine and all of the disk's contents, including application data files. For virtual machines on Hyper-V and VMware ESX Server hosts, a checkpoint also saves the hardware configuration information.

You can create a checkpoint as a temporary backup before you update the operating system or an application, or before you make a configuration change on a virtual machine. The checkpoint allows you to restore the virtual machine to its previous state if the operation fails or adversely affects the virtual machine. You can create checkpoints only for a virtual machine that is deployed on a virtual machine host. You can't create checkpoints for a virtual machine that is stored in the library. For a virtual machine that is running on a Hyper-V or VMware host, you can create a checkpoint without stopping the virtual machine. For a virtual machine that is running on a Virtual Server host, you must shut down the virtual machine before you create a checkpoint.

You can create multiple checkpoints for a single virtual machine. Checkpoints use hard disk space, and, when allowed to proliferate, can affect the performance of a virtual machine when it's running, during migration, and when storing it to the library. Therefore, it's a best practice to remove unnecessary checkpoints.

The activity publishes all the data from the required and optional properties into published data. The following tables list the required and optional properties and published data for this activity.

Create Checkpoint Required Properties

Element	Description	Valid Values
VM ID	The unique identifier (GUID) of the virtual machine for which the checkpoint is being created

Create Checkpoint Optional Properties

Element	Description	Valid Values
Checkpoint Name	The name of the checkpoint
Description	An alphanumeric description of your choice for the checkpoint

Create Checkpoint Published Data

Element	Description	Valid Values
Accessibility	Public or Internal
Added Time	The date and time that the checkpoint was added, in the format yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss AM or PM
Checkpoint ID	The unique identifier (GUID) of the checkpoint
Checkpoint Name	The name of the checkpoint
ID	The unique identifier (GUID) of the checkpoint inside the platform; for example, Hyper-V, VMware, or Virtual Server
Description	An alphanumeric description of the checkpoint
Enabled	True or False. If False, the virtual machine can't be started.
Modified Time	The most recent modification date and time for the checkpoint, in the format yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss AM or PM
Most Recent Task	The last recorded task for the checkpoint; for example, Start virtual machine
Parent Checkpoint ID	The unique identifier (GUID) of the parent of the checkpoint
Virtual Disk Drives	The list of virtual disk drive names recorded for the checkpoint
VM ID	The unique identifier (GUID) of the virtual machine for which the checkpoint was created
VM Name	The name of the virtual machine for which the checkpoint was created