Working with volume snapshots

Cinder volume snapshots provide a way to nondisruptively copy a volume; allowing for in-situ volume backups to be taken. It also enables more advanced backup features and provides the ability to boot an instance from a given snapshot or from a point in time.

In this section, we will show you how to create a snapshot, mount a volume based off a snapshot, refresh a snapshot, and delete a given snapshot.

Getting ready

To work with Cinder volume snapshots, you will need the following:

• The openstack command-line client

• An openrc file with appropriate credentials for the environment

• The name or ID of the volume to delete

How to do it…

To create a snapshot, the volume must be first detached from an instance:

1. First, list your current volumes:

   

   Note

   If the volume you wish to snapshot has a status of in-use, you will need to detach it using the instructions in the Detaching volumes from an instance recipe earlier in this chapter.

2. As our volume is the correct state of available, we...