Introduction to Snapshot Virtual Disks

A is a point-in-time image of a virtual disk in a . A snapshot virtual disk is the logical equivalent of a complete physical copy; however, you create a snapshot virtual disk much faster than a physical copy and it requires less disk space. The virtual disk from which you are basing the snapshot, called the , must be a in your . Typically, you create a snapshot so that an application, such as a backup application, can access the snapshot and read the data while the source virtual disk remains online and is user-accessible. When the backup is completed, the snapshot virtual disk is no longer needed.

Source Virtual Disk Snapshot Virtual Disk Repository Virtual Disk
Figure 5 Snapshot Virtual Disk