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Creating a Volume Snapshot

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Stephanie Richards
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Learn how to create a volume snapshot in the OVHcloud Control Panel.

A volume snapshot is a recovery point stored within the same storage cluster as the original volume. Operations will be fast, but in case of an incident on the cluster, the volume and volume snapshot might be unavailable. Volume snapshot creation does not require the volume to be detached from the instance.

This is not to be confused with a volume backup, an image created out of your volume, which is stored in the Object Storage cluster where the original volume is located. The level of resiliency is ideal and will allow you to quickly react to any incident on your volume, creating another volume from the backup. Volume backup creation requires the volume to be detached from the instance. For more information on this option, please consult this guide.

A snapshot of an additional volume serves two general purposes:

  • You can create backups with a few clicks and keep them as long as needed.
  • You can use the snapshot as a template for identical volumes.

 

Requirements

 

Instructions

It is not required to detach the volume from its instance first). However, if you wish to detach your volume, please consult the "Detach a volume" section of this guide.
NOTE: If you have not already created a block storage backup, you can make one by following the instructions in this guide.

From the OVHcloud Control Panel:

  1. Click Public Cloud in the top navigation bar.
  2. Select your Public Cloud project.
  3. Under Storage, click Block Storage.
  4. In the row of the volume concerned, click the more options ... button and select Create a backup.

PCI_blockstorage_snapshot01***.png

 

On the next screen, select Volume Snapshot and then click Create backup. You can change the name of your volume snapshot if you like.

PCI_blockstorage_snapshot02*.png

The snapshot creation time may take several hours, depending on the amount of data present on the volume, the instance resource utilization at the time of the snapshot, and other host-specific factors.

We therefore recommend that you perform your snapshots outside of your production hours.

Other best practices include:

  • Avoid creating snapshots during peak hours.
  • Install the qemu-guest agent if it is not installed... or try to disable it if necessary.
  • Try not to "solicit" the server too much during the snapshot creation phase (I/O limitation, RAM consumption, etc.).

Since a volume snapshot is a clone of the entire disk, it will have the maximum size of the original volume, regardless of the actual disk space allocation.

After the snapshot is created, you can manage it by clicking Volume Snapshot in the left-hand menu under Storage.

PCI_blockstorage_snapshot03**.png

 

To delete your snapshot, click the more options ... button and select Delete.

PCI_blockstorage_snapshot04**.png

 

You can also Create a volume based on the respective snapshot. You can find further information in this guide.

 

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other Public Cloud support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.

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