ONTAP 9 Manuals ( CA08871-402 )

Manage local Snapshot copies overview

A Snapshot copy is a read-only, point-in-time image of a volume. The image consumes minimal storage space and incurs negligible performance overhead because it records only changes to files since the last Snapshot copy.

You can use a Snapshot copy to restore the entire contents of a volume, or to recover individual files or LUNs. Snapshot copies are stored in the directory .snapshot on the volume.

A FlexVol volume can contain up to 1023 Snapshot copies.

Beginning with ONTAP 9.8, FlexGroup volumes can contain 1023 Snapshot copies. For more information, see Protect FlexGroup volumes using Snapshot copies..