---
title: "Saved images and snapshots"
description: "The difference between a saved image, a template for new nodes, and a snapshot, a restore point for the node you took it from."
content_type: "concept"
product: "node"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/node/concepts/images-and-snapshots/"
---

# Saved images and snapshots

A saved image and a snapshot both capture a node at a point in time, but they solve different
problems. A saved image is a reusable template: launch new nodes from it whenever you want a
copy of that setup. A snapshot is a saved point for the node you took it from. Keep it
around so that, if something goes wrong, you can build a node from that point again.

To choose, reach for a saved image when the goal is more nodes with this same setup. Reach for a
snapshot when the goal is a safety net before you change something on this one node.

## A saved image, for launching new nodes

Save an image from a node's **Actions** menu, or from **Save as Image** on one of its snapshots.
Either way, the finished image appears on the **Saved Images** page. Saving an image copies only the
node's root disk. If the setup you want to reuse depends on data in a volume, recreate or reattach
that volume on each node you launch from the image. You are charged for the storage the image uses
once it is ready.

Any node can save an image except a firewall or spot node. Once saved,
the image is offered only on a plan in the same region, with the same operating system,
version, and category. The plan's root disk also has to be at least as big as the image
itself.

Whether you can save an image while the node is running depends on the series:

| Node series                  | When **Save Image** works              |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| C3, M3, SDC3, GDC3, E1, E1WC | While the node is **Running**          |
| All others, including GDC    | Only after the node is **Powered off** |

To save an image from a locked node, remove the lock first. For a node with an MS SQL license,
contact support to save the image.

## A snapshot, for keeping this node's earlier state

To use a snapshot, choose **Save as Image** from its menu, then launch a node from that image.

A node's **Snapshots** tab is where you schedule snapshots or set a lifecycle that clears out
old ones automatically. A new snapshot's name is pre-filled as **snapshot-** plus a random
number; rename it with letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens.

Taking a snapshot also lets you snapshot one, several, or all of the node's attached volumes
at the same time. A single snapshot can cover the node's disk and its extra storage
together.

Creating a snapshot needs a node in the C3, M3, SDC3, GDC3, E1, or E1WC family, with the node
unlocked and either **Running** or **Powered off**. You can lock a snapshot afterward to keep it from being deleted, by hand or by a lifecycle rule; a locked
snapshot stays until you take its lock off. Deleting the node deletes all of its snapshots,
locked ones too, so save any you want to keep as an image first.

Snapshots are charged for the storage they use; see [E2E's pricing page](https://www.e2enetworks.com/pricing)
for the current rate. The price appears in the portal before you confirm.

See [Save a node as an image](/myaccount/node/how-to/save-a-node-as-an-image/) and
[Create a snapshot of a node](/myaccount/node/how-to/create-a-snapshot/) for the steps.