Clones, Replicas, and Snapshots

The array OS lets you manage the objects in a storage system: volumes and their associated clones, replicas, and snapshots.

Clones are writable, highly space-efficient copies of volumes which you can create from snapshots. When you create a clone from a snapshot, you create a new volume with a new name and iSCSI or Fibre Channel target with the same settings. Clones share identical blocks and are often used to test applications before putting them into production.

Replicas are copies of volumes stored on a different array, called a replication partner. Replicas are most often used for disaster recovery. For more information about replicas and replication, see Replication.

Snapshots are point-in-time copies of volumes. Snapshots are often used as backups, and to preserve the state of volumes at specific points. By creating a clone from a snapshot, snapshots can also be used as starting points to which applications can write and read data. For more information about snapshots, see Snapshots.