VMware Snapshot Reporter

A comprehensive PowerShell tool for automated VMware snapshot monitoring and reporting with color-coded HTML email notifications.

🚀 Features

• 📊 Comprehensive Reporting: Detailed snapshot analysis with statistics and summaries
• 🎨 Color-Coded Risk Assessment:
  • 🟢 Green: Low risk (< 2 days old)
  • 🟡 Yellow: Medium risk (2-3 days old)
  • 🔴 Red: High risk (3+ days old)
• 📧 HTML Email Reports: Beautiful, responsive email notifications
• ⚙️ Configurable Thresholds: Customize risk assessment criteria
• 📱 Mobile-Friendly: Responsive design for all devices
• 🔒 Secure: Support for credential files and encrypted passwords
• 🧪 Test Mode: Validate configuration without sending emails
• 💾 Backup Reporting: Automatic file backup when email fails

📸 Screenshots

📋 Prerequisites

• Windows PowerShell 5.1 or later
• VMware PowerCLI module
• vCenter Server access (read-only minimum)
• SMTP Server access for email notifications

🔧 Installation

1. Install VMware PowerCLI (if not already installed):

   Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Force -AllowClobber

2. Download the script:

   git clone https://github.com/canberkys/VMware-Snapshot-Reporter/git
   cd VMware-Snapshot-Reporter

3. Configure the script (see Configuration section below)

⚙️ Configuration

Before running the script, update the configuration section at the top of VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1:

vCenter Configuration

$VCenterConfig = @{
    Server = "your-vcenter-server.domain.com"  # REQUIRED: Your vCenter FQDN/IP
    Username = "your-service-account@domain.com"  # REQUIRED: Service account
    Password = "your-secure-password"  # REQUIRED: Account password
    # CredentialPath = "C:\Secure\vcenter-creds.xml"  # OPTIONAL: Credential file
}

Email Configuration

$EmailConfig = @{
    SmtpServer = "your-smtp-server.domain.com"  # REQUIRED: SMTP server
    SmtpPort = 25  # OPTIONAL: SMTP port (25, 587, 465)
    From = "vmware-reports@your-domain.com"  # REQUIRED: Sender email
    To = @("it-team@your-domain.com")  # REQUIRED: Recipient emails
    CC = @("manager@your-domain.com")  # OPTIONAL: CC recipients
    Subject = "VMware Snapshot Report - {0}"  # Email subject template
}

Risk Thresholds

$RiskConfig = @{
    HighRiskDays = 3    # Snapshots older than 3 days = Red
    MediumRiskDays = 2  # Snapshots 2-3 days old = Yellow
    # Snapshots < 2 days = Green
}

🔐 Security Best Practices

Option 1: Credential Files (Recommended)

# Create encrypted credential file
Get-Credential | Export-CliXml -Path "C:\Secure\vcenter-creds.xml"

# Update configuration to use credential file
$VCenterConfig = @{
    Server = "your-vcenter-server.domain.com"
    CredentialPath = "C:\Secure\vcenter-creds.xml"
}

Option 2: Environment Variables

# Set environment variables
$env:VCENTER_USERNAME = "service-account@domain.com"
$env:VCENTER_PASSWORD = "secure-password"

# Update configuration
$VCenterConfig = @{
    Server = "your-vcenter-server.domain.com"
    Username = $env:VCENTER_USERNAME
    Password = $env:VCENTER_PASSWORD
}

🚀 Usage

Basic Usage

.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1

Test Mode (No Emails Sent)

.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -TestMode

Save Report to File

.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -SaveToFile -OutputPath "C:\Reports\snapshot-report.html"

Using External Configuration File

.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -ConfigFile "C:\Config\production-config.ps1"

Combined Options

.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -TestMode -SaveToFile -OutputPath "C:\Reports\test-report.html"

📊 Sample Output

Console Output

[2025-09-28 10:30:15] [INFO] VMware Snapshot Reporter v2.0 starting...
[2025-09-28 10:30:15] [INFO] vCenter: vcenter.company.com
[2025-09-28 10:30:16] [SUCCESS] Successfully connected to vCenter: vcenter.company.com
[2025-09-28 10:30:18] [SUCCESS] Successfully processed 5 snapshots
[2025-09-28 10:30:18] [SUCCESS] === SNAPSHOT REPORT SUMMARY ===
[2025-09-28 10:30:18] [SUCCESS] Total Snapshots: 5
[2025-09-28 10:30:18] [SUCCESS] Total Size: 125.6 GB
[2025-09-28 10:30:18] [SUCCESS] Risk Distribution: High=1, Medium=2, Low=2
[2025-09-28 10:30:19] [SUCCESS] Email report sent successfully

Email Report Features

• Executive Summary: Total snapshots, size, and oldest snapshot age
• Risk Assessment: Color-coded breakdown of snapshot ages
• Detailed Table: Complete snapshot inventory with:
  • VM Name
  • Snapshot Name
  • Creation Date
  • Age in Days (color-coded)
  • Description
  • Size (color-coded)
  • Creator Username

📅 Automation

Task Scheduler (Windows)

Create a scheduled task to run daily:

# Create scheduled task
$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-File C:\Scripts\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1"
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "09:00AM"
$Settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -ExecutionTimeLimit (New-TimeSpan -Hours 1)
$Principal = New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal -UserId "DOMAIN\ServiceAccount" -LogonType ServiceAccount

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "VMware Snapshot Report" -Action $Action -Trigger $Trigger -Settings $Settings -Principal $Principal

Cron Job (Linux with PowerShell Core)

# Add to crontab (run daily at 9 AM)
0 9 * * * /usr/bin/pwsh -File /opt/scripts/VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

PowerCLI Module Not Found

Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Force -AllowClobber -Scope CurrentUser

Certificate Errors

The script automatically ignores invalid certificates, but you can also:

Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -Confirm:$false

SMTP Authentication Required

Update email configuration:

$EmailConfig = @{
    SmtpServer = "smtp.office365.com"
    SmtpPort = 587
    UseSSL = $true
    Username = "smtp-user@domain.com"
    Password = "app-password"
    # ... other settings
}

Firewall/Network Issues

Test connectivity:

Test-NetConnection your-vcenter-server.domain.com -Port 443
Test-NetConnection your-smtp-server.domain.com -Port 25

Debug Mode

Add verbose logging:

$VerbosePreference = "Continue"
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -Verbose

🔧 Customization

Custom Risk Thresholds

$RiskConfig = @{
    HighRiskDays = 7     # Weekly cleanup cycle
    MediumRiskDays = 3   # 3-day warning period
}

Additional Email Recipients

$EmailConfig = @{
    To = @(
        "primary-admin@company.com",
        "backup-admin@company.com",
        "infrastructure-team@company.com"
    )
    CC = @(
        "manager@company.com",
        "director@company.com"
    )
}

Custom Report Filters

$ReportConfig = @{
    PoweredOnOnly = $false      # Include powered-off VMs
    MaxEventSamples = 2000      # Increase event history
    SortBySize = $false         # Sort by age instead of size
}

📈 Performance Considerations

• Large Environments: Increase MaxEventSamples carefully as it affects performance
• Network Latency: Consider running the script from a server close to vCenter
• Concurrent Access: Multiple scripts can run simultaneously against different vCenters
• Memory Usage: Large environments may require PowerShell memory optimization

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/new-feature)
5. Create a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🆘 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Wiki: Project Wiki

🙏 Acknowledgments

• VMware PowerCLI team for the excellent PowerShell module
• Community contributors for feedback and improvements
• IT Operations teams worldwide using this tool

📊 Statistics

• Language: PowerShell
• Lines of Code: ~500
• File Size: ~25KB
• Tested On:
  • vCenter 6.7, 7.0, 8.0
  • PowerShell 5.1, 7.x
  • Exchange Server, Office 365, Gmail SMTP

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