STORAGE: Snapshots v Backups

[John]

Dear Colleagues,

I find myself in need of clarification regarding the technical distinctions between snapshots and backups. I hope that someone can shed light on this matter and confirm whether my understanding is accurate.

As far as I comprehend, snapshots can be likened to "photographs" capturing my archival files at a specific moment in time. These snapshots are stored alongside my files. Conversely, backups involve creating a duplicate of the bits and bytes, often stored separately on disk or tape.

My current predicament arises from the fact that my workplace only offers snapshot backups, which are retained for 30 days. Unfortunately, the institution does not provide the type of backups I described earlier. I am curious to know if others rely solely on snapshots like we do, or if I should explore external storage options that offer proper backup copies rather than snapshots.

I appreciate any assistance provided and thank you in advance.

Warm regards,

John

[Matt Deschaine]

I think for me the issue is I never want errors to be introduced into the system and then potentially not have some replication to recover from. I am always going to want the exact bitstreams copied to a separate set of disks as a contingency against hardware failure, bit rot, or human error. Snapshots may be able to account for that, I think it depends on the specifics of your IT infrastructure.