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.

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.

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.

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.