Quick Data Recovery using Snapshots - Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP
Source: Dev.to
What is a Snapshot?
An ONTAP Snapshot is a read‑only, point‑in‑time image of a volume in a NetApp storage system. It captures the state of the file system at a specific moment without duplicating the actual data blocks. Instead, it uses pointers to reference the original data blocks, which means it consumes minimal additional storage space and has negligible performance overhead.
In simple terms, a snapshot is like taking a quick photo of your data at a specific moment. It records the state of your files and folders without using much extra storage or affecting performance. If you need to recover or view your data as it was at that moment, you can do so easily using the snapshot. It provides a fast and efficient way to protect your data and revert to a previous version when needed.
How Snapshots Work
When a snapshot is created, it essentially “freezes” the data, allowing you to access and restore files as they were at the time of the snapshot. Any changes made after the snapshot are written to new blocks, while the snapshot continues to point to the original blocks. This ensures the snapshot remains stable and unaltered, providing a reliable method for data recovery or reverting to a previous state.
Benefits and Use Cases
- Fast to create
- Ideal for shorter‑term recovery
- Stored internally on the file‑system volume
- Built‑in, automatic, or user‑scheduled snapshots
- Supports individual file or entire volume restore
- Crash‑consistent and incremental
These features make ONTAP snapshots a powerful tool for quick data recovery in Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP environments.