Snapshots

A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of your instance's state. Snapshots are created by administrators as part of backup, maintenance, or upgrade workflows. As a user, you can view the snapshots that exist for your assigned instances.

Before you start

• You must be signed in.
• The instance must be assigned to your account.
• Snapshots are managed by administrators. You cannot create, restore, or delete snapshots with a user-role account.

View snapshots

1. Open the instance detail view.
2. Select the Snapshots tab.
3. Review the list of available snapshots. Each entry shows:
   • Name — a descriptive label chosen by the administrator (for example, before-upgrade).
   • Created at — the date and time the snapshot was taken.
   • Stateful — whether the snapshot includes the running process state (memory) or just the disk state.

What snapshots contain

Type	What is captured
Stateless snapshot	The instance's file system and configuration at the moment the snapshot was taken. Running processes are not preserved.
Stateful snapshot	The file system, configuration, and the state of running processes (memory). When restored, the instance resumes where it left off.

Most snapshots are stateless. Stateful snapshots are larger and take longer to create, so they are used less frequently.

What you can do with snapshots

With user access, snapshots are read-only:

Action	User access	Admin / Operations access
View snapshot list	✓	✓
Create a snapshot	—	✓
Restore from a snapshot	—	✓
Delete a snapshot	—	✓

If you need a snapshot created, restored, or deleted, contact your administrator.

When snapshots are useful

• Before upgrades — your administrator may take a snapshot before applying system updates, so the instance can be rolled back if something goes wrong.
• Before risky changes — if you plan to make significant changes inside your instance, ask your administrator to create a snapshot first.
• Recovery — if your instance enters an unusable state, an administrator can restore it from a previous snapshot.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
The Snapshots tab is empty	No snapshots have been created for this instance yet. Contact your administrator if you need one.
You cannot find the Restore or Delete button	These actions require administrator or operations access. Contact your administrator.
A snapshot name is unclear	Snapshot names are chosen by the administrator. Ask them what the snapshot represents if the name is not self-explanatory.

Related

• View your instances
• Instance status
• Troubleshooting