6.9.2 Backing up Oracle Linux KVM Guests Stored in the KVM host

There are various ways to back up guests stored locally in the /EXAVMIMAGES storage repository on the KVM host.

Table 6-6 Oracle Linux KVM Guest Backup Approaches

Method	Description	Managed By	Best For
Back Up All of the KVM Guests Stored in the KVM host	From the KVM host, back up all guests in the /EXAVMIMAGES storage repository using XFS reflinks to get a consistent backup.	KVM host administrator	Recovering all guests after a compute node failure, which renders the guests unbootable.
Back Up an Individual Guest Stored in the KVM host	From the KVM host, selectively back up a guest in the /EXAVMIMAGES storage repository using XFS reflinks to get a consistent backup.	KVM host administrator	Selective recovery of a guest after a compute node failure that renders the guest unbootable but does not affect all of the other guests.
Back Up a Guest Internally	Back up a guest using a snapshot-based backup procedure that is run inside the guest.	Guest administrator	Recovery of a guest after a failure where the guest is still bootable and allows root login. This method also enables selective recovery of specific files.

• Back Up All of the KVM Guests Stored in the KVM host
  You can back up all of the guests by backing up the storage repository under /EXAVMIMAGES.
• Back Up an Individual Guest Stored in the KVM host
  You can back up an individual guest by backing up its specific folder under /EXAVMIMAGES.