Configuration Snapshots

Snapshots record the package profile, configuration files, and SUSE Manager settings for a client at a set point in time. You can roll back to older snapshots to restore previous configuration settings.

Snapshots are supported on traditional clients only. Salt clients do not support this feature.

Snapshots are captured automatically after some actions occur. You can also manually take a snapshot at any time. We recommend that you ensure you have a current snapshot before performing any potentially destructive action on your clients.

Snapshots are enabled by default. You can disable automatic snapshots by setting enable_snapshots=0 in the rhn.conf configuration file.

Manage your snapshots by navigating to Systems  Systems List and selecting the client you want to manage. Navigate to the Provisioning  Snapshots tab to see a list of all current snapshots for the selected client. Click the name of a snapshot to see more information about the changes recorded in the snapshot. You can use the subtabs in the Provisioning  Snapshots tab to see the changes that rolling back to the selected snapshot makes to:

  • Group memberships

  • Channel subscriptions

  • Installed packages

  • Configuration channel subscriptions

  • Configuration files

  • Snapshot tags

You can use a snapshot to roll back most changes to a client, but not all of them. For example, you cannot roll back multiple updates, and you cannot roll back a product migration. Always ensure you have taken a backup before performing upgrades on your clients.

1. Snapshot Tags

Snapshot tags allow you to add meaningful descriptions to your snapshots. You can use tags to record extra information about snapshots, such as a last known working configuration, or a successful upgrade.

Manage your snapshot tags by navigating to Systems  Systems List and selecting the client you want to manage. Navigate to the Provisioning  Snapshot Tags tab to see a list of all current snapshot tags for the selected client. Click Create System Tag, enter a description, and click the Tag Current Snapshot button.

2. Snapshots on Large Installations

There is no maximum number of snapshots that SUSE Manager keeps. This means that the database that stores the snapshots grows as you add more clients, packages, channels, and configuration changes.

If you have a large installation, with thousands of clients, you can use the SUSE Manager API to create a recurring cleanup script on a recurring schedule to ensure that old snapshots are deleted regularly. Alternatively, you can disable the feature by setting enable_snapshots=0 in the rhn.conf configuration file.