Dell MD3200, MD3220 owner manual Scheduling a Snapshot Virtual Disk, 140

repository uses less disk space than a full physical copy, because the only data blocks that are stored in the snapshot repository virtual disk are those that have changed since the time of the snapshot.

When you create a snapshot virtual disk, specify its location, capacity, schedule, and other parameters. You can disable or delete the snapshot virtual disk when it is not required. If you disable a snapshot virtual disk, you can re- create and reuse it the next time you perform a backup. For more information, see "Re-creating Snapshot Virtual Disks" on page 157. If you delete a snapshot virtual disk, you also delete the associated snapshot repository virtual disk.

NOTE: Deleting a snapshot does not affect data on the source virtual disk.

NOTE: The following host preparation sections also apply when using the snapshot feature through the CLI interface.

Scheduling a Snapshot Virtual Disk

When you create a snapshot virtual disk, you can choose whether the snapshot is created immediately or is created according to a schedule that you determine. This schedule can be a one-time snapshot creation or an ongoing snapshot creation that occurs at regularly occurring intervals. If a schedule is not specified, the snapshot virtual disk creation happens immediately upon execution of the command.

A schedule can be specified when a snapshot virtual disk is first created, or it can be added to an existing snapshot virtual disk at any time. One schedule per snapshot virtual disk is supported.

Common Reasons for Scheduling a Snapshot Virtual Disk

Scheduling a snapshot virtual disk can serve multiple purposes across a data storage environment. Most common uses of a snapshot scheduler are:

•Data backups

•Rapid recovery from a data loss event

A scheduled data backup can protect against data loss on a regular, unmonitored basis. For example, if an application stores business-critical data on two virtual disks in the storage array, you may choose to perform an automatic backup every day. To implement this backup, select the first virtual disk and create a backup schedule that runs once a day, Monday through

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Configuration: Premium Feature—Snapshot Virtual Disks