Using individual volume snapshots for data protection task
A volume snapshot is a point-in-time copy of a volume. You can use an individual volume rather than a group of volumes for the snapshot.
Creating a volume snapshot
You can create a snapshot of an active volume to preserve the volume image at any point in time. You can create up to 32 snapshots for a single volume.
Editing snapshot retention
You can change the retention period for a snapshot to control when or if the system deletes snapshots. The retention period you specify begins when you enter the new interval. When you set a retention period, you can select a period that begins at the current time (retention is not calculated from the snapshot creation time). You can specify intervals in minutes, hours, and days.
Deleting a snapshot
You can delete a volume snapshot from a storage cluster running Element software. When you delete a snapshot, the system immediately removes it.
Cloning a volume from a snapshot
You can create a new volume from a snapshot of a volume. When you do this, the system uses the snapshot information to clone a new volume using the data contained on the volume at the time the snapshot was created. This process stores information about other snapshots of the volume in the newly created volume.
Rolling back a volume to a snapshot
You can roll back a volume to a previous snapshot at any time. This reverts any changes made to the volume since the snapshot was created.
Volume snapshot backup operations
You can use the integrated backup feature to back up a volume snapshot. You can back up snapshots from a SolidFire cluster to an external object store, or to another SolidFire cluster. When you back up a snapshot to an external object store, you must have a connection to the object store that allows read/write operations.