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Learn about configuring custom ONTAP snapshot policies

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A snapshot policy defines how the system creates snapshots. The policy specifies when to create snapshots, how many copies to retain, and how to name them. For example, a system might create one snapshot every day at 12:10 a.m., retain the two most recent copies, and name the copies “daily.timestamp.”

The default policy for a volume automatically creates snapshots on the following schedule, with the oldest snapshots deleted to make room for newer copies:

  • A maximum of six hourly snapshots taken five minutes past the hour.

  • A maximum of two daily snapshots taken Monday through Saturday at 10 minutes after midnight.

  • A maximum of two weekly snapshots taken every Sunday at 15 minutes after midnight.

Unless you specify a snapshot policy when you create a volume, the volume inherits the snapshot policy associated with its containing storage virtual machine (SVM).