Snapshots#
Snapshots provide nearly-instant, non-disruptive, point-in-time backups that allow for rollback to a previous instance in the event of a hardware failure, faulty application upgrade, VM bluescreen, etc. Snapshot captures and restores can be done at various levels: cloud (entire system), tenant, individual virtual machine, NAS volume.
Key Features#
- Instant Recovery – Snapshots can be restored rapidly, minimizing downtime.
- Minimal Storage Impact – They are branched against initial data blocks, reducing additional storage consumption.
- Application-Consistent Snapshots – VergeOS supports quiescent snapshots, ensuring data integrity by freezing disk activity during capture.
- Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) – Cloud snapshots can be synchronized to another VergeOS system for offsite protection.
- Flexible Restore Options – Users can recover individual VMs and tenants, clone copies for testing, or revert entire environments.
Automated Snapshots#
Snapshots can be automated to take at regularly-scheduled intervals using snapshot profiles. A snapshot profile consists of one or more profile periods. Each period determines a frequency for taking a snapshot as well as a retention time. More information about snapshot profiles is available here: Snapshot Profiles (Snapshot Scheduling)
Manual Snapshots#
Snapshots can also be taken manually, with settable expiration. Manual snapshots can be useful for backup (of a VM, volume, or entire system) immediately before a configuration change, upgrade, or maintenance operation.
Cloud (System) Snapshot/Restore#
Cloud snapshots provide backup of the entire VergeOS system, including all tenants, VMs, networks, and settings.
What can be restored from a Cloud Snapshot?#
A cloud snapshot can be used to restore:
- Entire VergeOS system
- Individual VMs (un-quiesced)
- Individual tenants
For information regarding cloud snapshots, see: Cloud Snapshots and Restores
VM Snapshot/Restore#
VM-level snapshots allow for quiesced capture (requires guest agent) and schedule/retention customizable per individual VM. For related instructions, see: VM Snapshots and Restores.
Tenant Snapshot/Restore#
Individual tenants can be restored from the parent's cloud snapshot. For related instructions, see: Tenant Restores
Additionally, each tenant can utilize Cloud Snapshots, independently within their environments, to back up their own complete systems.
NAS Snapshot/Restore#
Volume snapshots provide quiesced backup/restore of individual NAS volumes. For related instructions, see: NAS Volume Snapshots and Restores