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Security Operations · Foundational

Snapshot

A point-in-time capture of the state of a volume, virtual machine or storage system.

Definition

Snapshots are created quickly, often using copy-on-write or redirect-on-write, and allow rapid rollback. They usually depend on the underlying storage, so they are not a substitute for independent backups. In forensics, VM and cloud disk snapshots preserve evidence.

Example

Taking a VM snapshot before applying a risky patch so it can be rolled back.

Exam tip

Snapshots on the same storage are not true backups; a storage failure loses both.

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