Snapshot

Description

• Real-Time Replica of Online Data
  A snapshot is a fully usable copy of a CBS. When a problem occurs in a CBS for which a snapshot has been created, the snapshot can be used to quickly restore it to its original status. It is recommended that you create a snapshot of the relevant CBS before making major business changes so that data can be quickly restored if the business change fails.

• Persistent Backup of Key Milestones
  Snapshots can serve as persistent backups of business data, preserving milestone status of business data.

• Rapid Business Deployment
  You can use business snapshot files to quickly clone multiple CBSs to quickly deploy servers.

Use Cases

Snapshot is a convenient and efficient data protection service and is recommended for the earlier business scenarios:

• Daily Data Backup
  You can use snapshots to regularly back up important business data to mitigate the risk of data loss caused by misoperation, attacks, or viruses.

• Quick Data Recovery
  You can create one or more snapshots before performing major operations such as changing the operating system, upgrading application software, or migrating business data. If any problems occur during the change operation, the business data can be restored in time through the created snapshot.

• Multi-replica Application of Production Data
  You can create production data snapshots to provide near-real-time production data for applications such as data mining, report query, development and testing.

• Rapid Deployment Environment
  You can create a snapshot of a CVM and use the snapshot to create a custom image. You can create one or more instances from the created image to quickly deploy CVMs in the same environment in batches, saving time on repeated configuration.

Snapshot Type

• Manual Snapshot
  Manually create a snapshot of the CBS data at a certain point in time. This snapshot can be used to quickly create more CBSs with the same data, or to restore the CBS to the status at that point in the future.

• Periodic Snapshot
  As your business continues to evolve, periodic snapshots can be used to provide continuous backup capabilities. You only need to formulate a backup policy and associate it with the CBS to achieve continuous backup of the CBS data within a certain period, greatly improving data security.

Case Review

Case 1: Data loss due to failure to take a manual snapshot before performing high-risk operations

For example, customer A has never created a snapshot of the CBS. On a certain day in May 2019, due to the operator's fio test on the CBS, the file system was damaged and the data could not be recovered.
Analysis: If customer A takes a snapshot of the CBS before testing, then after data corruption, snapshot rollback can be quickly enabled to restore business on time.

Case 2: Data loss due to failure to take regular snapshots of important data disks

For example, customer B had created snapshots for multiple CBSs, but after January 2019, he did not create snapshots for the newly purchased CBSs due to cost considerations. On a certain day in June 2019, a CBS that was not protected by snapshots had its data accidentally deleted at the file system layer, and the data was lost and could not be recovered.
Analysis: If customer B has performed regular snapshot protection on the CBS, then if the data is accidentally deleted, it can be restored to the data status at the last snapshot time point to reduce losses. After the incident, customer B took the initiative to create a snapshot for the CBS, which fully enhanced data protection.

Case 3: Business restore by regular snapshot rollback after an operation error

For example, customer C has snapshot protection for all CBSs. On a certain day in May 2019, the machine started abnormally due to improper operation.
Analysis: Customer C promptly restored the data using the regular snapshot from 2 days ago, and the business was not affected.

The later cases are all data loss caused by operational errors. By comparison, we can find that:

• In the case where a snapshot is not created, it becomes extremely difficult to recover data when issues arise with the server or CBS, potentially leading to significant losses.
• In the case where a snapshot has been created, data can be largely recovered in the event of issues with the server or CBS, resulting in minimal losses.

It is recommended that you create snapshots regularly for different types of businesses to improve data security and achieve low-cost and high disaster recovery for the business.