VERITAS Volume Manager 3.5 User's Guide - VERITAS Enterprise Administrator (September 2004)

Volume Tasks
Using the Volume Snapshot Feature
Chapter 4134
• Snap Clear - “Dissociating a Snapshot Volume (Volume Snap Clear)”
on page 137
Permanently removes the snapshot mirror from the original volume
and releases its space.
• Snap Abort - “Aborting a Snapshot” on page 138
Aborts the snapshot operation after issuing the Snap Start
command. Snap Abort permanently removes the snapshot mirror
from the volume and releases its space.
The five snapshot commands are subcommands of the Snap command
on the Volume context menu.
Using Snapshot
In summary, the snapshot procedure consists of three steps:
Step 1. Attaching a snapshot mirror to a volume, using Snap Start.
Step 2. Detaching the snapshot mirror and creating the snapshot volume that is
associated with the snapshot mirror. The Snap Shot command is used
for this step.
Step 3. Either reattaching the snapshot to the volume after you are done using
it, or permanently disconnecting it from the volume. Snap Back
reattaches the snapshot mirror; Snap Clear permanently disconnects
the snapshot mirror from the volume, removing the association between
the snapshot volume and the original volume.
Snap Abort aborts the snapshot operation after issuing the Snap Start
command.
Creating a Snapshot Copy of a Volume
Snap Start creates a snap mirror or plex, which is attached to and
synchronized with a volume. Once the snap mirror is synchronized, its
status, as displayed on the Mirrors tab of the GUI, changes to Snap
Ready.
After the snap mirror is synchronized with the volume, it can be used as
a snapshot mirror. The synchronization process can take a while, but it
does not interfere with use of the volume. If the Snap Start process fails,
the snapshot mirror is removed and its space is released. After the
mirror is synchronized, it continues to be updated until it is detached.