Checkpoint are point in time snapshots of a virtual machine. Formerly known as “snapshot”. When you apply a checkpoint, you effectively revert the virtual machine back to the moment when you created the checkpoint.
It is NOT supported to apply checkpoint when your Active Directory is running on the following operating systems:-
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2008 R2
You can apply checkpoint when the Active Directory Virtual Machine is running
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Newer operating system
These operating system are aware of and is using Generation ID. Generation ID is a 64 bit integer value which is associated with an instance of a virtual machine configuration file.Every time when you create a checkpoint, it has it’s own configuration file. It also means that is has a different Generation ID value.
| Scenario | Generation ID changed |
| Virtual machine is paused or resumed | No |
| Virtual machine reboots | No |
| Virtual machine host reboots | No |
| Virtual machine starts executing a snapshot (every time) | Yes |
| Virtual machine is recovered from backup | Yes |
| Virtual machine is failed over in a disaster recovery environment | Yes |
| Virtual machine is live migrated | No |
| Virtual machine is imported, copied, or cloned | Yes |
| Virtual machine is failed over in a clustered environment | No |
Next pre-requisite on hypervisor that support virtual machine Generation ID:-
- Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V
- Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V
- Vmware vSphere 5.0 Update 2 and newer
Do take note on the checkpoint supported for Active Directory on hypervisor and guest operating system before use.
For more information, please refer to
