Stability - Snapshot™ is read-only and, thus, affords important data protection capabilities. It can help organizations perform consistent backups from an IBM TotalStorage N series storage system while applications are running
Performance - storing a Snapshot copy on an IBM TotalStorage N series system has virtually no impact on the performance of the N series system. In addition, creating and deleting Snapshot copies have virtually no performance impact on an N series system
Scalability - IBM TotalStorage N series storage volumes can support up to 255 Snapshot copies. The ability to store a large number of low-impact, frequently created Snapshot copies increases the likelihood that the desired version of data can be successfully recovered
User visibility and file recoverability-the high performance, scalability and stability of Snapshot copies helps support online backup for user-driven recovery
Storage utilization-two Snapshot copies taken in sequence differ one from the next by the blocks added or changed in the time interval between the two copies. This block-incremental behavior limits associated storage capacity consumption
IBM System Storage N series systems with Snapshot technology offer unique benefits
Point-in-time copy technology is available from a variety of data storage vendors, but not all such technologies are created equal. IBM System Storage N series systems with point-in-time Snapshot capability can offer important advantages. Snapshot technology can help deliver data stability, scalability, recoverability and performance capabilities. IBM System Storage N series systems can leverage the Snapshot technology as a foundation for developing a range of data protection solutions. These solutions can incorporate and extend the advantages of the Snapshot technology to support advanced enterprise data protection.
What Is a Snapshot copy?
A Snapshot copy is a locally retained point-in-time image of data. Snapshot technology is a feature of the WAFL® (Write Anywhere File Layout) storage virtualization technology that is a part of Data ONTAP™, the microkernel that ships with every IBM System Storage N series storage system. A Snapshot is a "frozen," read-only view of a WAFL volume that provides easy access to old versions of files, directory hierarchies, and/or LUNs (logical unit numbers).
Snapshot technology performance capabilities support high scalability. A Snapshot can take only a few seconds to create-regardless of the size of the volume or the level of activity on the IBM System Storage N series storage system. After a Snapshot copy has been created, changes to data objects are reflected in updates to the current version of the objects, as if Snapshot copies did not exist. Meanwhile, the Snapshot version of the data remains completely unchanged. A Snapshot copy incurs little performance overhead; depending on available space, users can store up to 255 Snapshot copies per WAFL volume, all of which are accessible as read-only and online versions of the data.
