Snapshots
========= 

**Snapshots** are on-demand backup images of your slice.  You can use them to create new slices, 
or restore the slice they were created from.  There are many possible uses for snapshots, such as:

* **Failsafe:** Take a quick snapshot prior to doing any major upgrades or changes.  In case 
  anything goes wrong, you can use it to restore from a very recent backup.

* **Prebuilt "golden" images:** Snapshot a slice preinstalled with any frameworks, packages etc. 
  along with base configurations.  You can use this image to quickly spin up identical copies,
  saving time on server configurations.  

* **"Archive" Slices:** Take a snapshot of a slice before deleting it, so you can resurrect it later 
  in case you need it.

.. Note::
   Snapshots are a separate resource which are reserved to your account.  Therefore, they are not 
   deleted when the slice they were created from is deleted.  They are managed separately in the 
   Images area of the panel, as described below.


Create Snapshot
---------------

Although not necessary, it is recommended that you power off your slice before taking a snapshot.
You don't have to leave it powered off the entire time; you can power it back on once the snapshot
process has begun.

To create a new snapshot, click the :guilabel:`Create Snapshot` button, and fill out the window
that appears:

#. Select the slice you would like to take a snapshot of.
#. Enter a name for your snapshot.
#. Click :guilabel:`Create`

The new snapshot will show up in the **Snapshots** table below.  For progress, we show a timer
because it can vary substantially due to multiple factors like compression efficiency and current 
loads on the storage hosts.  A pessimistic assumption would be 2GB per minute, but is usually 
much faster.


Snapshots List
--------------

.. image:: ../_static/images/snapshots.png
    :target: ../_static/images/snapshots.png

This is a table of all current snapshots under the account.  There is the snapshot **Name**, 
**Region**, **Size**, **Duration** (how long it took to create), and **Created** date and time 
in UTC.

On the far right is an ellipsis dropdown menu.  Clicking the menu provides the following options:

Create Slice
  Create a new slice out of this snapshot.  This will take you to the Create slice page, with the 
  snapshot image auto-selected for you.

Restore Slice 
  Restore the slice with this image.  You will be prompted to confirm.  Once confirmed, the slice 
  will be rebuilt and essentially "time warp" back to the point this image was created.

.. Caution::

   Restoring a slice from a snapshot image will replace all data on the slice with the snapshot 
   image.

Rename
  A form will open prompting you for a new snapshot name.  Enter a new name and click :guilabel:`Rename` 
  to apply the change.

Delete
  Delete a snapshot.  You will be prompted to confirm.  Once confirmed, the snapshot  will be deleted 
  and the billing stops.


Snapshot Billing
----------------

Snapshots are $0.05 / month per GB of space used on your disk.  For example, if your slice has 
100GB disk but only using 40GB, a snapshot will cost $2.00/month. (40 * 0.05 = 2.00).