# disk space when saving large memory guests. Various compression formats are
# available for specifying a save image compressed by the named algorithm.
# Supported compression formats are "zstd", "lzop", "gzip", "bzip2", and "xz".
+# The "sparse" format uses QEMU's mapped-ram stream format to write guest memory
+# blocks at fixed offsets in the save image file.
# save_image_format can be used to select the desired save format. "raw" is
# the traditional format used by libvirt and is also the default. The
# compression formats can be used to save disk space, although this typically
-# results in longer save and restore times.
+# results in longer save and restore times. The "sparse" format results in a
+# save image file that is roughly the logical size of the guest's memory,
+# although on-disk size is a function of guest memory usage. The "sparse"
+# format is useful when a predictable maximum save image file size is
+# needed. The other formats can result in a save image file much larger
+# than guest memory if the guest runs a memory intensive workload.
#
# save_image_format is used with 'virsh save' or 'virsh managedsave'. It is
# an error if the specified save_image_format is not valid, or cannot be
QEMU_SAVE_FORMAT_XZ = 3,
QEMU_SAVE_FORMAT_LZOP = 4,
QEMU_SAVE_FORMAT_ZSTD = 5,
+ QEMU_SAVE_FORMAT_SPARSE = 6,
/* Note: add new members only at the end.
These values are used in the on-disk format.
Do not change or re-use numbers. */