---
title: "Snapshots, backups, and saved images"
description: "How snapshots, CDP backups, and saved images differ on E2E MyAccount, and which one to use for what you want to get back."
content_type: "concept"
product: "snapshots"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/snapshots/concepts/snapshots-vs-backups-vs-images/"
---

# Snapshots, backups, and saved images

Snapshots, backups, and saved images all keep a copy of your work, and each one is built for a
different job. The quickest way to choose is to ask what you want to get back: an earlier state
of a node or volume, a file you lost, or a setup you want on more nodes.

## Side by side

|                | Snapshot                                                             | Backup                                | Saved image                             |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| What it holds  | A node's root disk and the attached volumes you include, or a volume | A node's data, copied on a schedule   | A node's root disk                      |
| What it is for | Keeping the state from before a change                               | Getting back a file or folder         | Launching new nodes with the same setup |
| How you use it | Create a new volume from it, or save it as an image                  | Restore the file or folder you choose | Launch a node from it                   |

## A snapshot, for keeping an earlier state

Take a snapshot before you change something on a node or a volume. It holds that resource as it
was at that moment, so the earlier state is kept whatever the change does. From a volume
snapshot you create a new volume with the saved data. A node snapshot becomes a saved image,
and any node you launch from that image starts at the saved point. See
[How snapshots work](/myaccount/snapshots/concepts/how-snapshots-work/).

## A backup, for getting back lost files

CDP Backup is E2E's backup service for nodes. It copies a node's data every 6 hours by default,
and a restore brings back the file or folder path you choose. That makes it the right tool when
a file is deleted or damaged by mistake. See
[Enable backups on a node](/myaccount/node/how-to/enable-backups-on-a-node/).

## A saved image, for more nodes with the same setup

A saved image is a reusable template of a node's root disk. Save it once, then launch new nodes
from it already set up the same way. It holds the root disk only, so data on attached volumes
stays with those volumes. See [Saved Images](/myaccount/images/).

A node snapshot can become a saved image too, when the point you want to build from is one you
captured earlier. See
[Create an image from a snapshot](/myaccount/node/how-to/create-an-image-from-a-snapshot/).