In addition to taking snapshots on a recurring schedule, you can also take manual snapshots of group member VMs.

The manual snapshot includes the current members of the protection group based on the vSphere queries defined for the group (VM name pattern and/or folders). The snapshot includes all VMs that match any of the query criteria at the time when you take the snapshot.

Note: If another scheduled or manual snapshot is in progress, you cannot take a manual snapshot of that protection group until the current snapshot finishes.
Important: To view a completed snapshot, reload the snapshots list on the protection group page. To verify that a snapshot job has started, you can view the Monitor > Events > Protection filter to view the snapshot job start event.

Procedure

  1. From the left navigation, select Protection groups.
  2. From the list, select a protection group to take a snapshot of.
  3. In the protection group page, from the drop-down menu on the far right, click Take snapshot.
  4. In the Take manual snapshot dialog box, select a retention time for the snapshot, which determines how long the snapshot is retained before it is automatically deleted. For example, you can choose Forever (is never deleted), for a specific period of time (for example, 12 days), or a specific date on which the snapshot is deleted.
  5. Click Take snapshot. 
    Note: If a snapshot job is already in progress, then you see an error stating that the system failed to take the snapshot. In this case, you must wait until the current snapshot job is finished to take the manual snapshot.
  6. Refresh the list to see the new snapshot. Click the snapshot to see its contents.