Your ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system automatically protects shared folders and LUNs by taking snapshots. Snapshots contain references to data on a shared folder or LUN. Strictly speaking, snapshots are not backups, but they function as backups because you can recover data from snapshots.
You can take snapshots of shared folders and LUNs. You cannot take a volume snapshot. Snapshots reside on the same volume as the shared folder or LUN from which they were created.
Your ReadyNAS system can automatically take snapshots of a shared folder or LUN according to a schedule that you specify.
To check whether automatic snapshots are enabled for a folder or LUN:
- Log in to your ReadyNAS Admin Page.
- Select Shares > Shares and select a folder or LUN.
If the Continuous Protection check box is selected, snapshots are enabled for that folder or LUN.
You can also manually take or delete individual snapshots at any time. You can keep an unlimited number of manual snapshots as long as storage space is available.
WARNING: When the available storage space on a volume decreases below five percent of the volume's total storage space, the oldest automatic snapshots are automatically deleted to bring the available storage space back to five percent or higher. Manual snapshots are always kept until you delete them.
After snapshot protection is available, the shared folders and LUNs on the Shares screen indicate the number of snapshots and the number of days with protection.
Shared folder with daily snapshots
Shared folder with hourly snapshots
Note: For snapshots of a folder to be accessible to users from their network-attached devices, you must select the Allow snapshot access check box in the settings for that folder or in the LUN settings pop-up screen. For more information, see How can I view and change the properties of a shared folder on my ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system?
Smart Snapshot Management
ReadyNAS uses Smart Snapshot Management to reduce the number of automatic (continuous) snapshots per shared folder or LUN. Every hour, this feature automatically deletes older hourly, daily, and weekly snapshots according to the following rules:
- Hourly snapshots are kept for 48 hours.
- Daily snapshots are kept for four weeks.
- Weekly snapshots are kept for eight weeks.
Note: The Smart Snapshot Management feature does not delete manual snapshots.
Roll Back
You can replace a shared folder or LUN with an earlier version by rolling back to a snapshot. When you roll back to a snapshot, the entire shared folder or LUN is replaced with the version captured by the snapshot. All snapshots that were taken after the snapshot that was used for rolling back are deleted. For more information about how to roll back to a snapshot, see What changes were made to Timeline and the Recover Files screen in ReadyNAS OS 6.5?
Clones
You can create a new independent shared folder or LUN from a copy of a snapshot. Changes made to the copy (clone) do not affect the parent shared folder or LUN and changes made to the parent do not affect the clone. For more information, see How do I clone a snapshot on my ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system?
Last Updated:04/06/2017
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Article ID: 23353