vSphere 6.0 – create a new alarm for snapshots using the vSphere Web Client

We all know that snapshots can be dangerous if left to grow out of control – they will fill the datastore!.  I always like to try and mitigate this risk by creating a new alarm definition to generate an alert if a snapshot grows to a particular size.  An administrator can then act accordingly.  Here are the steps required to do this in the vSphere Web Client:

1. In the Navigator pane select the vCenter node
2. On the Manage tab open the Alarm Definitions page
3. Click the Add button
4. Enter a name and a description, ensure the Monitor drop-down menu is set to "Virtual Machines" and the "Specific conditions or state, for example CPU" option is selected.  Click Next

   
   

5. Click Add, change the Trigger value to "VM snapshot size" and enter appropriate values for the warning and critical conditions.  Click Next

   

6. If required, click Add to send a notification email and configure the recipient address

   

7. Click Finish