LIVE SNAPSHOT OF A VIRTUAL MACHINE

The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a method including receiving a request to create a live snapshot of a state of a virtual machine at a reference point-in-time. The virtual machine can have a memory and an original disk file. The method further includes creating, at the reference point-in-time, an overlay disk file to copy data from the original disk file. Data modifications after the reference point-in-time are performed in the original disk file but not in the overlay disk file. The method also includes creating a memory snapshot at the reference point-in-time. The method includes providing the live snapshot corresponding to the reference point-in-time. The live snapshot includes the overlay disk file and the memory snapshot.