Instance Snapshots
Instance Snapshots are point-in-time copies of your virtual machine’s root volume and data volumes. They provide a reliable way to create backups, test upgrades, and clone environments.
Types of Snapshots
Volume Snapshot: Captures the data on a specific disk volume (e.g., Root or Data Disk).
- Consistent: Best practice is to stop write operations or the instance before snapshotting to ensure data consistency.
The snapshot types available to you appear in the console. Open Storage > Snapshots to see the options offered for your account before planning a backup strategy.
Creating a Snapshot
Every instance has a Root volume (and any data disks) listed under Storage > Volumes; identify yours by the attached instance name.
- Navigate to Storage > Volumes.
- Select the volume you wish to back up. Match it to your instance by the attached instance name shown in the list.
- Click Take Snapshot.
- Name: Provide a descriptive name (e.g.,
backup-pre-upgrade). - Description: Optional notes.
Scheduled Backups
You can automate daily, weekly, or monthly snapshots:
- Select the volume.
- Click Recurring Snapshots.
- Define the Time, Time Zone, Days of Week, and Keep Last X (retention policy).
Restoring from Snapshot
To restore data:
- Navigate to Storage > Snapshots.
- Select the snapshot.
- Click Create Volume: Creates a new disk volume from the snapshot.
- Detach the old volume from the instance.
- Attach the new volume.
- Or: Create a Template (Image) from the snapshot to launch new instances.
Usage
- Each snapshot consumes storage on the incremental data it captures for as long as the snapshot exists.
- Snapshot storage is billed at the block storage rate per GiB-month, applied to the data each snapshot retains. See atlascloud.is/en/pricing for the current rate.
- Regular pruning of old snapshots via retention policies is recommended to keep storage consumption under control.