Snapshots

This page allows you to take, remove, and edit snapshots, as well as to configure snapshot schedule and retention settings.

Snapshots minimize disk consumption by preserving individual blocks rather than the whole files. Extra space may be consumed when files are updated or removed.

To take a snapshot for an iSCSI LUN:

  1. Select the iSCSI LUN of which you wish to take a snapshot.
    Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
  2. Click Snapshot > Take a Snapshot.
  3. Enter the description in Description for the snapshot to be taken.
  4. Tick or untick the Lock checkbox to determine whether the snapshot will ignore the retention settings when automatic removal is to be triggered.
  5. Click OK to start taking a snapshot.

To remove a snapshot of an iSCSI LUN:

  1. Select an iSCSI LUN you wish to remove the snapshots of.
  2. Click Snapshot > Snapshot List.
  3. Select one or more snapshots you wish to remove, and click Remove.
    Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
  4. You will see a confirmation message. Click Delete to confirm the removal.

Note:

To edit a snapshot of an iSCSI LUN:

  1. Select an iSCSI LUN you wish to edit the snapshots of.
  2. Click Snapshot > Snapshot List.
  3. Select a snapshot you wish to edit, and click Edit.
  4. You can do any of the following to edit the snapshot:
  5. Click OK to save your settings.

Note:

Synology Snapshot Manager

Synology Snapshot Manager is a plug-in allowing you to take application-consistent snapshots directly from DSM UC. After installing and activating Synology Snapshot Manager on Windows Server or VMware ESXi Server, you can click Snapshot Manager Registration List to see the registered clients.

To configure scheduled snapshots:

With scheduled snapshots, Snapshot Replication will automatically take snapshots at the pre-determined time and frequency, and it will thus lighten your workload to take snapshot manually.

  1. Select an iSCSI LUN.
    Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. In the Schedule tab, tick the Enable snapshot schedule checkbox, and set up the time and frequency to take snapshots. To cancel scheduled snapshots for this LUN, please untick the checkbox.
  4. Click OK to save your settings.

To configure the retention settings for the scheduled snapshots:

  1. Select an iSCSI LUN.
    Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Select Retention tab.
  4. Specify how to retain and delete snapshots.
  5. Click OK to save your settings.

Note:

An iSCSI LUN can take up to 255 snapshots. It is suggested to activate snapshot retention policy to ensure scheduled snapshot tasks run smoothly.

To configure the consistent state of your iSCSI LUN snapshots:

  1. Select an iSCSI LUN.
    Note: You can press and hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Select the Application tab.
  4. Tick/untick Enable application-consistent snapshots checkbox to switch between the following consistent states:
  5. Click OK to save your settings.

Note:

____

Retention Policy

This option provides an ideal solution to help you specify the maximum amounts of snapshot versions to save your volume space, but you may need to retain your snapshots for longer periods of time. There are a few things to note about Retention Policy:

Example 1:
If you want to keep daily snapshots for the past 3 months, weekly snapshots for the past 4 to 6 months, and monthly snapshots for the past 7 to 9 months, you need to input 0 for hourly snapshots, 90 for daily snapshots, 24 for weekly snapshots, 9 for monthly snapshots, and 0 for yearly snapshots.

Example 2:
If you want to keep hourly snapshots for the past 2 days, daily snapshots for the past week, weekly snapshots for the past month, and monthly snapshots for the past year, you need to input 48 for hourly snapshots, 7 for daily snapshots, 4 for weekly snapshots, 12 for monthly snapshots, and 0 for yearly snapshots.