Create and protect a snapshot

Take a snapshot to capture a volume’s data at one point in time. Protect it when you want to create volumes or images from it. You don’t have to detach a volume to snapshot it.

Before you begin

The volume’s URN.
Permission pvs.snapshot.create on the volume, and pvs.snapshot.protect on the snapshot. See Roles.
A volume that reports AVAILABLE or INUSE. A volume in CREATING is refused, not queued; wait for AVAILABLE. A volume in DELETING, DELETED, or ERROR has nothing left to copy.
An active organization and a billing account that can pay. See Add a payment method.
Room in your snapshot quota. See Limits.

Create the snapshot

If the volume is attached to a running instance, quiesce the filesystem inside the guest when you need more than crash consistency. The snapshot is taken while the instance runs and captures the disk as a sudden power-off would.

Create the snapshot.

origin storage create-snapshot --volume-urn <volume-urn>

With the API, use the createSnapshot mutation:

mutation {
  pvs {
    createSnapshot(input: { volumeUrn: "<volume-urn>" }) {
      urn
      status
    }
  }
}

The snapshot reports PENDING. Note its urn.

Check the snapshot until it reports status: COMPLETED.
Terminal window
```
origin storage get-snapshot --snapshot-urn <snapshot-urn>
```
If it reports ERROR, the copy failed. Delete it and take a new one.

Protect the snapshot

Protect the snapshot only after it reports COMPLETED. A protect request for a PENDING snapshot is refused, not queued.

Protect the snapshot.

origin storage protect-snapshot --snapshot-urn <snapshot-urn>

With the API, use the protectSnapshot mutation:

mutation {
  pvs {
    protectSnapshot(input: { snapshotUrn: "<snapshot-urn>" }) {
      accepted
      message
    }
  }
}

Check the snapshot until it reports protectionStatus: PROTECTED.
Terminal window
```
origin storage get-snapshot --snapshot-urn <snapshot-urn>
```
If it reports FAILED, the protection state is unknown. Protect it again. See Snapshot states.

The snapshot is now a clone source: status: COMPLETED and protectionStatus: PROTECTED.

Before you begin

Create the snapshot

Protect the snapshot

Next steps

Related