Removing a Snapshot

When you remove a snapshot, the system must coalesce the snapshot by merging it with the next oldest snapshot. While the system is coalescing snapshots:

• A user cannot create a new snapshot in the everRun Availability Console. If you try, an error indicates that the system is busy.

• A user cannot start the VM associated with the snapshot(s) if the VM is currently stopped. The Start button is temporarily unavailable on the Virtual Machines page of the everRun Availability Console. So, if you need to delete a snapshot, do so while its associated VM is running, or allow the associated VM (if stopped) to remain stopped.
  

• A user must not shutdown a VM associated with the coalescing snapshot(s). You must not shut down the associated VM from the guest operating system because doing so causes data corruption. You cannot shut down the VM using the everRun Availability Console because the console prevents you from doing so.

• A user cannot perform tasks that require the storage space occupied by the snapshot(s) until the coalescing operation is complete and the snapshot(s) are finally removed from the volume container. For example, this could prevent you from resizing a volume.

Avoid removing snapshots if you have an immediate need to perform any of these operations. After you remove a snapshot, wait at least 10-15 minutes before attempting any of these operations, or retry the operation if needed. You may need to wait much longer depending on the size of your volumes, the amount of VM activity, and the number of snapshots you remove.

For information about how to monitor coalescing operations that are underway, see KB-4272.