What is snapshot consolidation in the context of vSphere?

Snapshot consolidation refers to the process of removing unneeded delta disk files from a datastore, which is an important function in managing virtual machine (VM) snapshots within vSphere environments. When a snapshot is created for a VM, it generates a series of delta disk files that store the changes made to the virtual disk after the snapshot was taken. Over time, as more snapshots are created and deleted, these delta files can accumulate and take up storage space, which may lead to inefficiencies or issues with VM performance and management.

By consolidating snapshots, the system merges these delta files back into the base disk, effectively cleaning up the datastore by removing those that are no longer required. This not only helps in maintaining optimal storage utilization but also improves the overall performance of the VM as it reduces the complexity involved in reading from multiple disk files during operations.

While methods for applying snapshot changes and optimizing performance are closely related to snapshot management, the primary purpose of consolidation is to focus on maintaining clean storage by eliminating unnecessary files, thereby ensuring the virtual environment runs smoothly and efficiently.