Snapshots & Data Protection
Understand VergeOS snapshot architecture, quiesced snapshots, snapshot profiles, clones, site sync replication, and disaster recovery strategies.
Built-In Data Protection
This page covers VergeOS snapshot mechanics (copy-on-write with point-in-time hash-tree references), quiesced snapshots for application-consistent recovery, snapshot profiles for retention scheduling, clones, site sync replication, and recovery procedures. Every VergeOS installation includes these capabilities — snapshots, automated scheduling, offsite replication, and granular recovery — managed from the same UI as compute, storage, and networking.
Snapshot Architecture
VergeOS snapshots leverage the VergeFS hash-based architecture to deliver nearly instant, space-efficient, point-in-time captures. Because VergeFS already stores data as deduplicated 64KB blocks identified by content-addressable hashes, a snapshot is simply a point-in-time capture of hash-tree references -- it preserves the root hashes that identified each file and VM disk at that instant.
Why Snapshots Are Space-Efficient
When a snapshot is taken, no data is copied. The snapshot references the same underlying blocks as the live data. Storage consumption only grows as the live data diverges from the snapshot -- new or modified blocks are written to new locations, while the snapshot continues to reference the original blocks. This means:
Instant creation -- capturing hash-tree root references is nearly instantaneous regardless of data size
Minimal initial overhead -- a fresh snapshot consumes almost no additional space
Gradual growth -- storage usage increases proportionally to the rate of data change over time
Deduplication preserved -- identical blocks across snapshots and live data are stored only once
Storage Planning
While snapshots are initially space-efficient, long-term retention of many snapshots with high data churn can significantly increase vSAN usage. Monitor storage utilization regularly and align retention policies with your available capacity.
Natively Immutable
VergeOS snapshots are natively immutable -- once captured, the referenced blocks cannot be modified by any workload. This provides inherent protection against ransomware and accidental data corruption, because malware running inside a VM cannot reach back into the vSAN to alter snapshot data. VergeOS also supports an explicit Immutable flag on system snapshots that blocks deletion by any user (including administrators) until the snapshot reaches its retention expiration. The flag cannot simply be toggled off: removing it early requires an unlock request, after which deletion occurs 7 days from the unlock request or at the snapshot's natural expiration, whichever comes first. So a short-retention immutable snapshot — such as the default hourly snapshots, which are immutable but retained only 3 hours — is protected for those 3 hours and then expires; the 7-day unlock delay only comes into play when you manually unlock a longer-retention snapshot early.
Snapshot Scope
VergeOS supports snapshots at four distinct levels, each serving different recovery objectives:
System Snapshots
System snapshots capture your entire VergeOS environment -- all VMs, tenants, NAS volumes, networks, and system configuration -- in a single operation.
Full
Everything in the system
Full system restore, or selective restore of individual VMs, tenants, NAS volumes
System-wide protection, DR recovery points
Partial (Include Tags)
Only VMs/tenants/volumes matching specified tags
Restore included objects
Higher-frequency protection for critical workloads
Partial (Exclude Tags)
Everything except objects matching specified tags
Restore included objects
Exclude transient or non-critical workloads
Full system snapshots are the foundation of VergeOS data protection and are required for full-system recovery. Partial snapshots complement full snapshots by allowing specific workloads to have their own replication cadence and retention policy without expanding system-wide retention.
Default settings on a new VergeOS system are pre-configured to take Full system snapshots at multiple intervals -- hourly (retained 3 hours), daily at midnight (retained 3 days), and daily at noon (retained 1 day).
VM Snapshots
Individual VM snapshots provide per-workload protection with the ability to quiesce the guest filesystem for application-consistent captures.
Full System Snapshot
No (crash-consistent)
Broad system-wide DR coverage
Partial System Snapshot
Yes (via quiesce tags)
Higher-frequency or longer-retention for selected VMs
Individual VM Snapshot
Yes (if selected)
Per-VM protection, ad-hoc before maintenance
NAS Volume Snapshots
NAS volume snapshots provide file-level recovery for CIFS/SMB and NFS shares. Volume snapshots support quiesced capture and can be scheduled independently from system snapshots using dedicated snapshot profiles.
Tenant Snapshots
Each tenant operates as an independent Virtual Data Center. Tenants can be restored from the parent system's snapshot, and tenants can also run their own independent snapshot schedules within their isolated environment.
Quiesced Snapshots
A quiesced snapshot provides an application-consistent capture by temporarily freezing filesystem I/O and flushing write buffers before the snapshot is taken. For Windows VMs, VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) writers are also invoked, ensuring that VSS-aware applications like SQL Server, Exchange, and Active Directory prepare their data for consistent backup.
Requirements
The VergeOS Guest Agent must be installed and registered on the VM
Linux VMs: the agent freezes the filesystem (fsfreeze)
Windows VMs: the agent triggers VSS writers in addition to filesystem freeze
Where Quiescing Is Available
Manual VM snapshot
Select the Quiesce checkbox when taking the snapshot
Scheduled VM snapshot
Enable Quiesce Snapshots in the VM's assigned snapshot profile
Partial system snapshot
Assign Quiesce Tags in the profile period -- VMs with matching tags are quiesced
Full system snapshot
Not available -- full system snapshots are always crash-consistent
Clones
A clone creates a new VM instance from a snapshot that references the same underlying data blocks as the original. Because VergeFS uses content-addressable storage, cloning is nearly instantaneous -- no data needs to be copied. The clone shares deduplicated blocks with the source until the two diverge.
Clone Options
Restore to New
Creates a new VM from a snapshot, leaving the original untouched
Preserve MAC Addresses
Keeps the same MAC addresses (use with caution to avoid conflicts)
Preserve Device UUIDs
Maintains device identifiers from the source VM
Cross-Cluster
Clone to a different compute cluster
Common Clone Use Cases
Test/dev environments -- spin up a production copy for testing without impacting the original
Pre-upgrade validation -- clone a VM, apply the upgrade to the clone, verify before touching production
Data recovery -- clone a snapshot to a new VM, mount its drives on another VM to extract specific files without restoring over the source
Template creation -- snapshot a golden image, clone it repeatedly for rapid provisioning
To avoid network conflicts when running both source and clone simultaneously, power on the clone on an isolated internal network, or let VergeOS generate new MAC addresses (the default behavior).
Snapshot Profiles
Snapshot profiles provide automated scheduling and retention management. A profile contains one or more periods, each defining a snapshot frequency and retention duration.
Default Profiles
VergeOS ships with several pre-configured profiles:
System Snapshots
Hourly (retained 3 hours, preconfigured Immutable), daily at midnight (retained 3 days), daily at noon (retained 1 day)
SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley)
Yearly (7 years), monthly (1 year), weekly (31 days), daily (7 days)
HIPAA
Yearly (indefinite), monthly (1 year), weekly (31 days), daily (7 days)
NAS Volume Syncs
Daily at 6 PM (retained 3 days)
Profile Period Configuration
Each period within a profile defines:
Frequency -- Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, or Custom (one-time)
Retention -- How long to keep snapshots (Days, Hours, Years, or Forever)
Minimum Snapshots -- Ensures a minimum number of snapshots are always available, even past expiration
Snapshot Type (system snapshots only) -- Full, Partial Include Tags, or Partial Exclude Tags
Quiesce Tags (partial snapshots only) -- Tag-based quiescing for selected VMs
Immutable flag (system snapshots only) -- Prevents deletion until unlocked with mandatory waiting period
Max Tier for Storing Snapshot (VM/volume snapshots) -- Controls the highest storage tier allowed for snapshot data
Assigning Profiles
Profiles can be assigned to:
System snapshots -- Navigate to System > System Snapshots > Set Snapshot Profile
Individual VMs -- Edit the VM and select a profile in the Snapshot Profile field
NAS volumes -- Assign during volume creation or edit
Site Sync & Disaster Recovery
Site sync replicates system snapshots to a remote VergeOS system, providing offsite backup, disaster recovery, and migration capabilities.
Key Features
Block-Level Sync
Only changed blocks are transferred between sites, minimizing bandwidth usage and transfer times.
In-Flight Compression
Data is compressed during transfer to further reduce bandwidth requirements. Note: VergeOS does not compress data at rest -- compression is applied only during site sync replication.
AES-256 Encryption
All replication traffic is automatically encrypted in transit.
Repair Server (ioGuardian)
Sync sites can serve as automatic inline healing sources after multiple concurrent drive failures or power events.
How Site Sync Works
Network configuration -- PAT rules translate incoming sync traffic to the vSAN (pre-created since VergeOS 4.13.x on both Core and External networks)
Incoming sync -- The receiving site creates an incoming sync definition to accept connections
Outgoing sync -- The sending site creates an outgoing sync that targets the receiving site
Snapshot selection -- Configure which snapshot profile periods should auto-sync and set remote retention
Scheduling -- Syncs can run on a schedule, be queued, or triggered manually
Repair server -- Optionally configure the sync target as an ioGuardian repair source
What Can Be Recovered at the DR Site
From received snapshots at the remote site, you can:
Restore the entire system -- Bring up a complete copy of the source environment
Restore individual tenants -- Recover specific tenant environments
Restore individual VMs -- Extract and power on specific workloads
Sync back -- Retrieve snapshots back to the source site for local data recovery after a disaster
Partial Snapshots and Site Sync
Both full and partial system snapshots can be used with site sync. This enables strategies such as:
Syncing high-priority VMs more frequently to a DR site
Retaining specific workloads longer at the remote site without expanding system-wide retention
Replicating different workload subsets to different remote locations
Recovery Scenarios
Failed OS/application upgrade
Restore VM from individual or system snapshot
Ransomware attack
Restore from immutable system snapshot (pre-infection)
Accidental file deletion
Restore files from NAS volume snapshot
Hardware failure (single node)
HA fails over VMs; no snapshot restore needed
Complete site loss
Restore entire system from site sync at DR site
Configuration error
Restore system from most recent system snapshot
Dev/test environment needed
Clone VM from snapshot to isolated network
Compliance audit
Retrieve historical data from long-retention SOX/HIPAA snapshots
Getting Started
Follow this recommended path to configure data protection for a new VergeOS deployment:
Review default system snapshot profile -- Navigate to System > System Snapshots > View Snapshot Profile and adjust the default schedule to match your RPO requirements
Install guest agents -- Deploy the VergeOS guest agent to critical VMs that require application-consistent (quiesced) snapshots
Assign VM-level profiles -- For workloads needing per-VM scheduling, edit each VM and assign an appropriate snapshot profile
Configure partial snapshots -- Tag critical VMs and add partial snapshot periods to your system profile for higher-frequency protection
Set up site sync -- Configure outgoing sync to a remote VergeOS system for offsite DR
Test recovery -- Validate your strategy by restoring a VM from snapshot and testing a site sync failover
Enable immutable snapshots -- For ransomware protection, mark critical snapshot periods as immutable with appropriate retention
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