Automating VM Snapshot Management in VMware vSphere with PowerShell

Managing snapshots in VMware vSphere is essential for backup and restoration processes. This PowerShell script automates the creation and deletion of snapshots for specified virtual machines (VMs). By using this script, you can efficiently manage VM snapshots, ensuring that your environment is backed up and that old snapshots are removed to free up storage space.
### Step 1: Load VMware PowerCLI Module
To start, ensure that the VMware PowerCLI module is loaded, which is necessary for interacting with your vSphere environment.
“`powershell

# Load VMware PowerCLI module
Import-Module VMware.PowerCLI

“`
### Step 2: Connect to vSphere
Next, youll need to connect to your vSphere server. Replace the placeholders with your actual server details.
“`powershell

# Connect to the vSphere server
$vCenterServer = "your_vcenter_server"
$username = "your_username"
$password = "your_password"
Connect-VIServer -Server $vCenterServer -User $username -Password $password

“`
### Step 3: Define the Virtual Machines
Specify the names of the virtual machines for which you want to create or delete snapshots. You can modify this list as needed.
“`powershell

# Define the VMs for snapshot management
$vmNames = @("VM1", "VM2", "VM3") # Replace with your VMs

“`
### Step 4: Create Snapshots
This block of code will loop through the defined VMs and create a snapshot for each one. It includes an optional comment for clarity.
“`powershell

# Create snapshots for each VM
foreach ($vmName in $vmNames) {
    $vm = Get-VM -Name $vmName
    if ($null -ne $vm) {
        $snapshot = New-Snapshot -VM $vm -Name "Backup-Snapshot-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMddHHmmss)" -Description "Snapshot created for backup purposes" -Confirm:$false
        Write-Host "Snapshot created for $vmName with name: $($snapshot.Name)"
    } else {
        Write-Host "VM $vmName not found."
    }
}

“`
### Step 5: Remove Old Snapshots
To keep the environment clean, this script will look for snapshots older than a certain number of days and remove them.
“`powershell

# Remove old snapshots
$daysThreshold = 30
foreach ($vmName in $vmNames) {
    $vm = Get-VM -Name $vmName
    if ($null -ne $vm) {
        $oldSnapshots = Get-Snapshot -VM $vm | Where-Object { $_.Created -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-$daysThreshold) }
        foreach ($snapshot in $oldSnapshots) {
            Remove-Snapshot -Snapshot $snapshot -Confirm:$false
            Write-Host "Removed snapshot: $($snapshot.Name) for VM: $vmName"
        }
    } else {
        Write-Host "VM $vmName not found."
    }
}

“`
### Step 6: Disconnect from vSphere
Finally, remember to disconnect from the vSphere server to ensure security and proper resource management.
“`powershell

# Disconnect from the vSphere server
Disconnect-VIServer -Server $vCenterServer -Confirm:$false

“`
This script provides a streamlined approach to managing snapshots of your VMs, ensuring that you can quickly back up environments and keep your storage organized.
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