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Have a couple production RHEL virtual machines and I will be using acronis to back those up daily. &nbsp;I have another smaller virtual machine that I will run CentOS on... Once I have it configured I'd like a backup of it that I could restore at any point. &nbsp;There will never be any data added to this machine that they care about retaining. &nbsp;And there will rarely be configuration changes. &nbsp;I don't think I actually want to create a snapshot in VMware as I hear those are only for short-term use and they are terrible anyway. &nbsp;I'm guessing I probably want something more like exporting an OVA file maybe? &nbsp;<br />
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Basically I just want to be able to get the system back at any point if I need to. &nbsp;But I don't need to back it up regularly so I don't want to go buying another acronis license for it.
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Have a couple production RHEL virtual machines and I will be using acronis to back those up daily.  I have another smaller virtual machine that I will run CentOS on... Once I have it configured I'd like a backup of it that I could restore at any point.  There will never be any data added to this machine that they care about retaining.  And there will rarely be configuration changes.  I don't think I actually want to create a snapshot in VMware as I hear those are only for short-term use and they are terrible anyway.  I'm guessing I probably want something more like exporting an OVA file maybe?  

Basically I just want to be able to get the system back at any point if I need to.  But I don't need to back it up regularly so I don't want to go buying another acronis license for it.

Easiest way to take a single backup of a configured VM?

Disaster Recovery is the planning for and creation of policies and procedures related to the resumption or continuation of an organization's functions following a catastrophic event. The term is most frequently used in relation to failure of networks, but DR preparations also include other business systems and personnel considerations.

Disaster Recovery

The term "Backup" means the methods and processes involved to copy computer data (system data as well as application data) to media other than the ones where the data originally live (disk, tape, optical, cloud). "Restore" in turn means the methods and processes involved in data recovery, i. e., bringing back copied computer data to their original location. Backup/Restore primarily serves as a means of protection against data loss, be it due to disaster, corruption or sabotage. It can also be used for recovering data from an earlier point in time and even for cloning machines or applications. There is a wide variety of backup/restore software available, from expensive commercial products to free or open source tools.

Storage Software

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data. In addition to local storage devices like CD and DVD readers, hard drives and flash drives, solid state drives can hold enormous amounts of data in a very small device. Cloud services and other new forms of remote storage also add to the capacity of devices and their ability to access more data without building additional data storage into a device.

Storage

Acronis sets the standard for cyber protection and hybrid cloud storage through its innovative backup, anti-ransomware, disaster recovery, storage, and enterprise file sync and share solutions. Powered by the Acronis AnyData Engine and strengthened by innovative artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies, Acronis solutions deliver easy, reliable, efficient, secure, and private cyber protection.  Founded in Singapore in 2003, Acronis is celebrating its 15-year anniversary. Supported by more than 1,000 employees worldwide, Acronis’ products are used in over 150 countries, delivering complete protection to more than 5 million consumers and 500,000 businesses. Learn more at acronis.com