A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of an app that's stored on the same provisioned volume as the app. They are usually fast. You can use local snapshots to restore the application to an earlier point in time. Snapshots are useful for fast clones; snapshots include all of the Kubernetes objects for the app, including configuration files.

A backup is stored in the external object store, and can be slower to take compared to local snapshots. You can restore an app backup to the same cluster, or you can migrate an app by restoring its backup to a different cluster. You can also choose a longer retention period for backups. Because they are stored in the external object store, backups generally offer you better protection than snapshots in cases of server failure or data loss.

A protection policy is a way to protect an app by automatically creating snapshots, backups, or both according to a schedule that you define for that app. A protection policy also enables you to choose how many snapshots and backups to retain in the schedule. Automating your backups and snapshots with a protection policy is the best way to ensure each app is protected according to the needs of your organization.

A clone is an exact duplicate of an app, its configuration, and its persistent storage. You can manually create a clone on either the same Kubernetes cluster or on another cluster. Cloning an app can be useful if you need to move applications and storage from one Kubernetes cluster to another.