Virtual machine question about files.

[urworstnit3m3r]

Okay so recently I moved my Minecraft server into a VM rather then it just run straight hardware and my question is, If files save within the VM are they actually saved to disk so like if the VM crashes or w/e is all that information just lost and when you restart the VM it will only be at where it was booted up last time?

 

• so like boot up vm start mc server..
• auto saves files within vm
• vm goes down for some reason
• restart that vm will the files be where the autosave within the vm happened or when it was booted?

[Bluethulhu]

It saves to a virtual disk file, so it should be fine. You could also share a folder as a network drive on your hard drive to the VM, and have an auto-backup program within the VM backup all the server files.

[IdeaStormer]

Depending on which VM Machine type (VMware, VirtualBox, etc.) you are using you either can enable Host to Client shares or Drag and Drop and backup your data accordingly.

 

If your VM dies for any reason and if the VMDK file is still valid you can mount it like an external drive and copy things off of it. The VMDK file can also go bad just like a hard drive and you'll be SOL just like if a HardDrive died or if the drive your VMDK file is on bad drive it can become unreadable.

[urworstnit3m3r]

I am using VirtualBox, and currently do a backup of the minecraft files to my nas but i don't do it every day. So if something saves within the VM it is actually saved to disk right?

[IdeaStormer]

Yes, if you save the file on the VM it is saved on the VM disk (aka VMDK file). You can stop the VM and copy/backup the VM and you will also be backing up the file and VM in one. Backup will be huge though, or as big as the VM's disk plus some accessory files.