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= Snapshotting Improvements =
== Summary ==


== id/tag confusion ==
Adjust the '''savevm''', '''loadvm''' and '''info snapshots''' commands to facilitate the transtion to QMP.


* Starting a VM with no previous snapshot on the disks
This page is being maintained by the GSoC student Miguel Di Ciurcio Filho as part the [[Google_Summer_of_Code_2010/QMP|QMP project]]. All feedback is appreciated.
  (qemu) savevm 2
 
  (qemu) savevm
== Issues ==
  (qemu) info snapshots  
 
{| cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="1"
! Index
! Problem
! Difficulty
! Proposed solution
! Status
|-
| 1
| [[#Snapshot existence is not verified before bdrv_snapshot_goto() | Snapshot existence is not verified before bdrv_snapshot_goto()]]
| Easy
|
* Improve the resilience of the load_vmstate() function, doing further and better ordered tests.
|
* Patch applied to the block branch: http://repo.or.cz/w/qemu/kevin.git/commit/d98644fe6fc05ce75c203c761920a6948b0ad853
|-
| 2
| [[#Monitor shows wrong information about snapshots | Monitor shows wrong information about snapshots]]
| Easy
|
* Consolidate the snapshot information to show only snapshots fully available
* Do not display any block device information anymore
| rowspan=3 |
* Patch v2: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2010-08/msg00346.html
|-
| 3
| [[#Do not allow empty names |Do not allow empty names]]
| Easy
|
* If the user does not specify a name, we must create a name from a template, using a timestamp like: '''vm-20100801121212'''.
|-
| 4
| [[#Snapshot overwriting|Snapshot overwriting]]
| Easy
|
* Don't save the snapshot if the name given by the user already exists.
* If the user really wants to overwrite it, add a '''-f''' parameter to '''savevm'''.
* In case of overwriting, do not reuse the ID, just the name.
|-
| 5
| [[#snapshot ID collision|snapshot ID collision]]
| Easy
|
* Use an stronger ID numbering system instead of simple sequential decimal numbers
* Take the ID generation out of the block drivers
* UUID seams a good mechanism, needs to depend on libuuid-dev
| Patch v1: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2010-08/msg00204.html
|-
| 6
| [[#ID and TAG confusion|ID and TAG confusion]]
| Medium
|
* When specifying an snapshot to be loaded or saved, only use names/tags.
* Have separate commands to load by ID and name, or add parameters to explicitly distinguish one from another in '''loadvm'''.
* Do not support '''savevm <ID>''' anymore. We are trying not to expose ID information to the user.
|
|-
| 7
| [[#inheritance|inheritance]]
| Hard
|
* Add ''char parent_id_str[128]'' to QEMUSnapshotInfo and ''char *parent_id_str'' to QCowSnapshot
* Use the extra_data_size field of the qcow2 header to store the parent_id_str
* When loading and saving snapshots, verify if extra_data_size > 0 and feed the information info QEMUSnapshotInfo.parent_id_str
* libvirt wants this feature
* Update the '''info snapshots''' output to hide ID and PARENT_ID information
* Add another command to show full details of snapshots
* The ID information must not be exposed to the user, unless when using '''qemu-img''' to inspect a disk image.
| Patch v1: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2010-08/msg00204.html
|}
 
== Snapshot existence is not verified before bdrv_snapshot_goto() ==
This patch improves the resilience of the load_vmstate() function, doing
further and better ordered tests.
 
In load_vmstate(), if there is any error on bdrv_snapshot_goto(), except if the
error is on VM state device, load_vmstate() will return zero and the VM will be
started with major corruption chances.
 
== Monitor shows wrong information about snapshots ==
 
The output generated by 'info snapshots' shows only snapshots that exist on the
block device that saves the VM state. This output can cause an user to
erroneously try to load an snapshot that is not available on all block devices.
 
  $ qemu-img snapshot -l xxtest.qcow2
Snapshot list:
ID        TAG                VM SIZE                DATE      VM CLOCK
1                                1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:52  00:00:08.599
2                               1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:53  00:00:09.719
3                                1.5M 2010-07-26 17:26:49  00:00:13.245
4                                1.5M 2010-07-26 19:01:00  00:00:46.763
 
$ qemu-img snapshot -l xxtest2.qcow2
  Snapshot list:
ID        TAG                VM SIZE                DATE      VM CLOCK
3                                  0 2010-07-26 17:26:49  00:00:13.245
4                                  0 2010-07-26 19:01:00  00:00:46.763
 
Current output:
$ qemu -hda xxtest.qcow2 -hdb xxtest2.qcow2 -monitor stdio -vnc :0
QEMU 0.12.4 monitor - type 'help' for more information
  (qemu) info snapshots
  Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
  Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
  Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
  Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
  ID        TAG                VM SIZE                DATE      VM CLOCK
  ID        TAG                VM SIZE                DATE      VM CLOCK
  1         2                      1.5M 2010-07-21 16:55:48   00:00:15.581
  1                               1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:52   00:00:08.599
  2                                1.5M 2010-07-21 16:55:55   00:00:21.501
  2                                1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:53  00:00:09.719
  (qemu) loadvm 2 <loads the VM with the id 2>
3                                1.5M 2010-07-26 17:26:49   00:00:13.245
4                                1.5M 2010-07-26 19:01:00  00:00:46.763
 
Snapshots 1 and 2 do not exist on xxtest2.qcow, but they are displayed anyway.
 
New output:
  (qemu) info snapshots
ID        TAG                VM SIZE                DATE      VM CLOCK
3                                1.5M 2010-07-26 17:26:49  00:00:13.245
4                                1.5M 2010-07-26 19:01:00  00:00:46.763
 
 
== Do not allow empty names ==
 
When running:
(qemu) savevm


It is not clear witch snapshot is going to be loaded.
The snapshot is saved without a name and can only be loaded using the generated ID. The idea is to not have IDs exposed, so every snapshot must have a name.


== Snapshot overwriting ==
== Snapshot overwriting ==


* Is this the expected behavior?
Is this the expected behavior? Don't think so.
* What other projects do?


=== By id ===
=== By id ===
Line 41: Line 157:
  (qemu) savevm test1
  (qemu) savevm test1
  (qemu) savevm test2
  (qemu) savevm test2
(qemu) info snapshots  
  (qemu) info snapshots  
  Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
  Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
  Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
  Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
Line 55: Line 171:
  1        test1                  3.9M 2010-07-21 17:12:33  00:00:29.221 <-- 17:12:33
  1        test1                  3.9M 2010-07-21 17:12:33  00:00:29.221 <-- 17:12:33


== current/previous ==
Ideas for improvements:
* There is no way to know witch VM is loaded
* Do not allow the user to overwrite an snapshot, even if saving with the same name (will have different IDs anyway)
* There is no history of loaded VMs
 
== snapshot ID collision ==
 
qemu-img create -f qcow2 diskA.qcow2 10G
qemu-img create -f qcow2 diskB.qcow2 10G
 
qemu -hda diskA.qcow2
(qemu) savevm a
(qemu) savevm b
(qemu) savevm c
 
qemu -hda diskB.qcow2
(qemu) savevm a
(qemu) savevm b
 
qemu -hda diskB.qcow2 -hdb diskA.qcow2
(qemu) loadvm b
 
diskA.qcow2 and diskB.qcow2 have both the same snapshot identification '''b''' and '''2''', but they were taken at different moments and must not be loaded. We need an stronger ID mechanism to identify snapshots among different disks. It is not a common case, but we reduce the chance of anyone having trouble.
 
== ID and TAG confusion ==
 
What other projects do?
* VirtualBox does not allow specifying an ID, just a name and description of an snapshot. http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html#snapshots
* VMware does not allow specifying an ID, just a name and description. http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1015180
* XenServer does not allow specifying an ID, just a name. http://support.citrix.com/servlet/KbServlet/download/23735-102-646135/Administrators_Guide.pdf - page 127
 
Starting a VM with no previous snapshot on the disks.
(qemu) savevm 2
(qemu) savevm
(qemu) info snapshots
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                VM SIZE                DATE      VM CLOCK
1        2                      1.5M 2010-07-21 16:55:48  00:00:15.581
2                                1.5M 2010-07-21 16:55:55  00:00:21.501
(qemu) loadvm 2 <loads the VM with the id 2>
 
It is not clear witch snapshot is going to be loaded.
 
Ideas for improvements:
* ''savevm'' tests the argument to check if it is an ID or a TAG. Make it accept only a TAG and do not allow the user to specify and ID.
* ''loadvm'' does the same thing. The user must specify if an ID or TAG is wanted. Suggestions:
(qemu) loadvm id=3
(qemu) loadvm tag=xxx
(qemu) loadvm xxx <error>
(qemu) loadvm 3 <error>
 
In case ''loadvm'' cannot be changed due to retro-compatibility, introduce a new command. Suggestions:
(qemu) load_vm id=3
(qemu) load_vm tag=xxx
(qemu) loadvm_byid 3
(qemu) loadvm_bytag xxx


== inheritance ==
== inheritance ==
Line 77: Line 245:
  5        e                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:33:28  00:00:15.548
  5        e                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:33:28  00:00:15.548


Snapshot '''e''' is newer than '''d''', but it is an state saved right after '''b''', and not '''d''' as implied by the ids and dates.
Snapshot '''e''' is newer than '''d''', but it is an state saved right after '''b''', and not '''d''' as implied by the ids and dates. libvirt wants this.
 
== QMP ==
 
Here is a list of suggested commands to manipulate snapshots information on a QEMU VM.
=== query-snapshot-status ===
Returns '''true''' when the VM can be snapshotted, '''false''' otherwise.
 
-> {"execute": "query-snapshot-status"}
<- {"return": true }
 
* Not sure if QMP allow returning just a boolean.
 
=== snapshot-create ===
Runs ''savevm''.
 
-> {"execute": "snapshot-create", "arguments": {"name": "vm_before_upgrade"} }
<- { "return": {} }
 
* "name" is mandatory and must be unique.
* Needs to return any errors.
 
=== snapshot-delete ===
Runs delvm.
 
-> {"execute": "snapshot-delete", "arguments": {"name": "vm_before_upgrade"} }
<- { "return": {} }


== mixing disks could be dangerous ==
* "name" is mandatory and must be unique.
* Needs to return any errors.


A VM is loaded with two devices, one device with three previous snapshots and
=== snapshot-load ===
the other device with two previous snapshots.
Runs loadvm.


I take a new snapshot of the VM without a name: the first device will
-> {"execute": "snapshot-load", "arguments": {"name": "vm_before_upgrade"} }
save the snapshot as id_str 4 and the second device with id_str 3.
<- { "return": {} }


I play around for a while and I want to restore the VM to my latest
* "name" is mandatory and must be unique.
state. When 'info snapshots' is run, only the first device is show
* Needs to return any errors.
with the VM state, and the latest ID shown will be 4.


=== loading without checking all devices ===
=== query-snapshots ===
So, I fire up loadvm 4. qemu will try to load by id or name anyway,
will succeed loading the VM state from the first device, but will fail
to load an non-existent snapshot id from the second device and will
still be running with the second device out of sync with the VM state.


Patch that fixes this: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2010-07/msg01065.html
-> {"execute": "query-snapshots"}
<- {
"return": [
    {         
      "name": "vm_before_upgrade",
      "parent_name": "",
      "id": "3fab28c9-a6bd-4659-b9bc-683780d8a2d5",
      "parent_id": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
      "date": 20100415164856
    },
    {         
      "name": "vm_before_upgrade-2",
      "parent_name": "vm_before_upgrade",
      "id": "e693dce2-6e12-4474-9bbf-2b3f97323423",
      "parent_id": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
      "date": 20100415100000
    }
  ]       
}


=== equal IDs on the different devices with different states ===
* Do we really need to expose IDs or names should be enough?
* Does JSON has a date type of just using a integer like YYYYMMDDHHMMSS would be better?


Running again:
Instead of a list, how about this:
(qemu) savevm 4


The previously saved state identified by id_str 4 will be deleted and
-> {"execute": "query-snapshots"}
replaced by a new one, but only in the first device of my example
<- {
above. The second device will get a new snapshot, since it does not
"return": [
have a id_str equal to 4.
    {         
      "vm_before_upgrade": {
      "id": "3fab28c9-a6bd-4659-b9bc-683780d8a2d5",
      "date": 20100415164856,
      "child": { "vm_before_upgrade-2":
  "id": "e693dce2-6e12-4474-9bbf-2b3f97323423",
          "date": 20100415100000
      }
                            }
        "random-backup": {
        "id": "abcdefcc-a6bd-4659-b9bc-683780d8a2d5",
        "date": 20111111111111
                          }
      }
  ]


If I run loadvm 4 again, the snapshot id 3 in the second device will be left
[[Category:Obsolete feature pages]]
there in an state diferent from the snapshot id 3 from the first device.

Latest revision as of 15:26, 11 October 2016

Summary

Adjust the savevm, loadvm and info snapshots commands to facilitate the transtion to QMP.

This page is being maintained by the GSoC student Miguel Di Ciurcio Filho as part the QMP project. All feedback is appreciated.

Issues

Index Problem Difficulty Proposed solution Status
1 Snapshot existence is not verified before bdrv_snapshot_goto() Easy
  • Improve the resilience of the load_vmstate() function, doing further and better ordered tests.
2 Monitor shows wrong information about snapshots Easy
  • Consolidate the snapshot information to show only snapshots fully available
  • Do not display any block device information anymore
3 Do not allow empty names Easy
  • If the user does not specify a name, we must create a name from a template, using a timestamp like: vm-20100801121212.
4 Snapshot overwriting Easy
  • Don't save the snapshot if the name given by the user already exists.
  • If the user really wants to overwrite it, add a -f parameter to savevm.
  • In case of overwriting, do not reuse the ID, just the name.
5 snapshot ID collision Easy
  • Use an stronger ID numbering system instead of simple sequential decimal numbers
  • Take the ID generation out of the block drivers
  • UUID seams a good mechanism, needs to depend on libuuid-dev
Patch v1: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2010-08/msg00204.html
6 ID and TAG confusion Medium
  • When specifying an snapshot to be loaded or saved, only use names/tags.
  • Have separate commands to load by ID and name, or add parameters to explicitly distinguish one from another in loadvm.
  • Do not support savevm <ID> anymore. We are trying not to expose ID information to the user.
7 inheritance Hard
  • Add char parent_id_str[128] to QEMUSnapshotInfo and char *parent_id_str to QCowSnapshot
  • Use the extra_data_size field of the qcow2 header to store the parent_id_str
  • When loading and saving snapshots, verify if extra_data_size > 0 and feed the information info QEMUSnapshotInfo.parent_id_str
  • libvirt wants this feature
  • Update the info snapshots output to hide ID and PARENT_ID information
  • Add another command to show full details of snapshots
  • The ID information must not be exposed to the user, unless when using qemu-img to inspect a disk image.
Patch v1: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2010-08/msg00204.html

Snapshot existence is not verified before bdrv_snapshot_goto()

This patch improves the resilience of the load_vmstate() function, doing further and better ordered tests.

In load_vmstate(), if there is any error on bdrv_snapshot_goto(), except if the error is on VM state device, load_vmstate() will return zero and the VM will be started with major corruption chances.

Monitor shows wrong information about snapshots

The output generated by 'info snapshots' shows only snapshots that exist on the block device that saves the VM state. This output can cause an user to erroneously try to load an snapshot that is not available on all block devices.

$ qemu-img snapshot -l xxtest.qcow2
Snapshot list:
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1                                1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:52   00:00:08.599
2                                1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:53   00:00:09.719
3                                1.5M 2010-07-26 17:26:49   00:00:13.245
4                                1.5M 2010-07-26 19:01:00   00:00:46.763
$ qemu-img snapshot -l xxtest2.qcow2
Snapshot list:
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
3                                   0 2010-07-26 17:26:49   00:00:13.245
4                                   0 2010-07-26 19:01:00   00:00:46.763 

Current output:

$ qemu -hda xxtest.qcow2 -hdb xxtest2.qcow2 -monitor stdio -vnc :0
QEMU 0.12.4 monitor - type 'help' for more information
(qemu) info snapshots
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1                                1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:52   00:00:08.599
2                                1.5M 2010-07-26 16:51:53   00:00:09.719
3                                1.5M 2010-07-26 17:26:49   00:00:13.245
4                                1.5M 2010-07-26 19:01:00   00:00:46.763 

Snapshots 1 and 2 do not exist on xxtest2.qcow, but they are displayed anyway.

New output:

(qemu) info snapshots
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
3                                1.5M 2010-07-26 17:26:49   00:00:13.245
4                                1.5M 2010-07-26 19:01:00   00:00:46.763 


Do not allow empty names

When running:

(qemu) savevm

The snapshot is saved without a name and can only be loaded using the generated ID. The idea is to not have IDs exposed, so every snapshot must have a name.

Snapshot overwriting

Is this the expected behavior? Don't think so.

By id

(qemu) savevm 
(qemu) savevm 
(qemu) info snapshots 
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1                                3.9M 2010-07-21 17:08:31   00:00:03.696
2                                3.9M 2010-07-21 17:08:33   00:00:05.419 <-- 17:08:33
(qemu) savevm 2 <overwrittes the snapshot with id 2>
(qemu) info snapshots 
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1                                3.9M 2010-07-21 17:08:31   00:00:03.696
2                                3.9M 2010-07-21 17:08:53   00:00:25.918 <-- 17:08:53

By tag

(qemu) savevm test1
(qemu) savevm test2
 (qemu) info snapshots 
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1         test1                  3.9M 2010-07-21 17:12:11   00:00:08.126 <-- 17:12:11
2         test2                  3.9M 2010-07-21 17:12:19   00:00:16.053
(qemu) savevm test1
(qemu) info snapshots 
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
2         test2                  3.9M 2010-07-21 17:12:19   00:00:16.053
1         test1                  3.9M 2010-07-21 17:12:33   00:00:29.221 <-- 17:12:33

Ideas for improvements:

  • Do not allow the user to overwrite an snapshot, even if saving with the same name (will have different IDs anyway)

snapshot ID collision

qemu-img create -f qcow2 diskA.qcow2 10G
qemu-img create -f qcow2 diskB.qcow2 10G
qemu -hda diskA.qcow2
(qemu) savevm a
(qemu) savevm b
(qemu) savevm c
qemu -hda diskB.qcow2
(qemu) savevm a
(qemu) savevm b
qemu -hda diskB.qcow2 -hdb diskA.qcow2
(qemu) loadvm b

diskA.qcow2 and diskB.qcow2 have both the same snapshot identification b and 2, but they were taken at different moments and must not be loaded. We need an stronger ID mechanism to identify snapshots among different disks. It is not a common case, but we reduce the chance of anyone having trouble.

ID and TAG confusion

What other projects do?

Starting a VM with no previous snapshot on the disks.

(qemu) savevm 2
(qemu) savevm
(qemu) info snapshots 
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1         2                      1.5M 2010-07-21 16:55:48   00:00:15.581
2                                1.5M 2010-07-21 16:55:55   00:00:21.501
(qemu) loadvm 2 <loads the VM with the id 2>

It is not clear witch snapshot is going to be loaded.

Ideas for improvements:

  • savevm tests the argument to check if it is an ID or a TAG. Make it accept only a TAG and do not allow the user to specify and ID.
  • loadvm does the same thing. The user must specify if an ID or TAG is wanted. Suggestions:
(qemu) loadvm id=3
(qemu) loadvm tag=xxx
(qemu) loadvm xxx <error>
(qemu) loadvm 3 <error>

In case loadvm cannot be changed due to retro-compatibility, introduce a new command. Suggestions:

(qemu) load_vm id=3
(qemu) load_vm tag=xxx
(qemu) loadvm_byid 3
(qemu) loadvm_bytag xxx

inheritance

The only way to know witch snapshot came before of after another is to look at the date, but it is not possible to fully deduct the relationship. e.g.:

(qemu) savevm a
(qemu) savevm b
(qemu) savevm c
(qemu) savevm d
(qemu) loadvm b
(qemu) savevm e
(qemu) info snapshots 
Snapshot devices: ide0-hd0
Snapshot list (from ide0-hd0):
ID        TAG                 VM SIZE                DATE       VM CLOCK
1         a                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:32:55   00:00:06.144
2         b                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:33:00   00:00:11.103
3         c                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:33:13   00:00:22.953
4         d                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:33:16   00:00:26.289
5         e                      3.9M 2010-07-21 17:33:28   00:00:15.548

Snapshot e is newer than d, but it is an state saved right after b, and not d as implied by the ids and dates. libvirt wants this.

QMP

Here is a list of suggested commands to manipulate snapshots information on a QEMU VM.

query-snapshot-status

Returns true when the VM can be snapshotted, false otherwise.

-> {"execute": "query-snapshot-status"}
<- {"return": true }
  • Not sure if QMP allow returning just a boolean.

snapshot-create

Runs savevm.

-> {"execute": "snapshot-create", "arguments": {"name": "vm_before_upgrade"} }
<- { "return": {} }
  • "name" is mandatory and must be unique.
  • Needs to return any errors.

snapshot-delete

Runs delvm.

-> {"execute": "snapshot-delete", "arguments": {"name": "vm_before_upgrade"} }
<- { "return": {} }
  • "name" is mandatory and must be unique.
  • Needs to return any errors.

snapshot-load

Runs loadvm.

-> {"execute": "snapshot-load", "arguments": {"name": "vm_before_upgrade"} }
<- { "return": {} }
  • "name" is mandatory and must be unique.
  • Needs to return any errors.

query-snapshots

-> {"execute": "query-snapshots"}
<- {
"return": [
   {           
     "name": "vm_before_upgrade",
     "parent_name": "",
     "id": "3fab28c9-a6bd-4659-b9bc-683780d8a2d5",
     "parent_id": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
     "date": 20100415164856
   },
   {           
     "name": "vm_before_upgrade-2",
     "parent_name": "vm_before_upgrade",
     "id": "e693dce2-6e12-4474-9bbf-2b3f97323423",
     "parent_id": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
     "date": 20100415100000
   }
  ]        
}
  • Do we really need to expose IDs or names should be enough?
  • Does JSON has a date type of just using a integer like YYYYMMDDHHMMSS would be better?

Instead of a list, how about this:

-> {"execute": "query-snapshots"}
<- {
"return": [
   {           
      "vm_before_upgrade": { 
		      "id": "3fab28c9-a6bd-4659-b9bc-683780d8a2d5", 
		      "date": 20100415164856, 
		      "child": { "vm_before_upgrade-2": 
  					"id": "e693dce2-6e12-4474-9bbf-2b3f97323423",
 				        "date": 20100415100000 
			       }
                           }
        "random-backup": {
 		      "id": "abcdefcc-a6bd-4659-b9bc-683780d8a2d5",
 		      "date": 20111111111111
                         }
     }
  ]