Figure 6.7 Example of a checkpoint life cycle
Checkpoints can also be managed from PowerShell, but the naming is inconsistent. To
create a checkpoint, use the Checkpoint-VM cmdlet as follows:
Checkpoint-VM -Name "TestVM10" -SnapshotName "Before change"
To list or apply a checkpoint, use the Get-VMSnapshot and Restore-VMSnapshot
cmdlets. The following command finds the checkpoint for a VM and applies it:
Get-VM -Name "TestVM10" | Get-VMSnapshot | Restore-VMSnapshot
One great feature introduced in Windows Server 2012 was that the merging of
differencing files that is required when a checkpoint is deleted was performed live,
while the virtual machine was still running. Prior to Windows Server 2012, the
merging of differencing files related to a checkpoint deletion did not occur until the
virtual machine was stopped. Windows Server 2016 improves on the merging of the
differencing files when running on ReFS, as covered in Chapter 4, “Storage
Configurations,” with the ability to merge files through Metadata updates only.