How are virtual machine snapshots managed in vSphere?

Virtual machine snapshots in vSphere are primarily managed through the Snapshots menu in the vSphere Web Client. This interface allows users to easily create, view, revert, or delete snapshots of virtual machines. The vSphere Web Client provides a user-friendly graphical interface that simplifies the management of snapshots, presenting clear options and visual feedback regarding the status of snapshots.

When using the Snapshots menu, users can take a snapshot of a virtual machine to preserve its current state, which includes the VM's disk state, memory state, and device state. This capability is particularly useful for backup, testing updates or configurations, and recovery from unexpected issues.

While it is technically possible to manage snapshots through other means, such as command-line utilities or third-party solutions, the vSphere Web Client is designed to provide the most straightforward and effective method for managing snapshots, making it the preferred and most commonly used approach in practice. The ESXi host interface also does not offer the same comprehensive capabilities for snapshot management, and third-party solutions might add complexity without the streamlined experience provided by the built-in tools in vSphere.