Snapshot and Clone

Individual Volume Snapshots as well as full Instance Snapshots are available in OpenCloud for use.

Volume Snapshots are very versatile and can also be used to clone new Instances. They can be used to create new Volumes from the Snapshots spin up new Instances in new Zones as well as existing Zones.

Only one Volume can be selected for a Snapshot at one time. Each Volume requires its own Snapshot schedule if more than one snapshot will be taken on a regular basis.

Instance Snapshots can be used to recover Instance states. They can also be used to create new Volume Snapshots from an Instance Snapshot.

It is recommend to use Volume Snapshots instead of Instance Snapshots. Instance Snapshots are only supported under certain conditions and must meet the following criteria:

Instance is Powered On
Instance must have the VirtIO drivers installed w/QEMU-guest-agent running

Terminology:

Instance – A Customer VM in OpenCloud
Volume – One or more disk(s) attached to a user Instance
Root Volume - The Volume that contains the OS of an Instance.
Domain – A user’s specific collection of resources inside OpenCloud. All work should be done inside a customer’s specific Domain.
Zone – A Cluster of OpenCloud Resources. Zones are separate clusters.

Snapshot Options:

Snapshot Memory - QEMU KVM Snapshots ALWAYS include memory data. It is not possible to disable this option.
Quiesce Instance - QEMU KVM Snapshots ALWAYS pause the Instance CPU so that no changes are made to memory or disk during Snapshot creation. It is not possible to disable this option.

QEMU guest agent – A suite of agents that OpenCloud needs to perform snapshots on an Instance. These guest agents need to be installed before the Instance snapshot will be successful. This guide assumes these agents have been installed as part of the base Instance template that the instance in OpenCloud was built from. If the VirtIO tools have not been installed on the Instance, refer to the VirtIO Drivers portion of the Compute Documentation.

Note

Before creating an Instance Snapshot of an Instance using UEFI SecureBoot, make sure that the Services QEMU Guest Agent and QEMU Guest Agent VSS Provider are running in a Windows Instance.

Creating an Instance Snapshot

Note

Volume Snapshot recovery will not work if an Instance Snapshot of the same Instance exists. To recover a Volume Snapshot, all Instance Snapshots of the Instance that the Volume came from must be removed.

The log in to OpenCloud with provided credentials.
When looking at the OpenCloud Main Page, click on Compute > Instances. Please also note that the Instance Snapshots menu is under Compute as well.
Click on the name of the Instance that needs a Snapshot.
Click on the Camera button to bring up a new screen.
Name the snapshot and put in any descriptions like the date/time it was taken.
There are options for taking a snapshot of Memory and Quiesce Instance. If the snapshot requires these, then they can be turned on. The defined usage for these functions is as follows:
1. (For running Instances only) If the Instance’s memory should be included in the Snapshot, click the Memory checkbox. This saves the CPU and memory state of the Instance. If this box is not checked, then only the current state of the Instance volume is saved. Checking this box makes the Snapshot take longer.
2. Quiesce Instance: check this box if the file system on the Instance should be quiesced before taking the Snapshot. Not supported on XenServer when used with OpenCloud-provided primary storage.
Once all the Instance Snapshot parameters have been filled in, click OK to start the Snapshot Process.
An activity toast will pop up on the top of the screen and an Event will be listed under the little bell icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Once the task is done, there will be a green completion mark in the task list.
To view the completed snapshot, go to the Instance Snapshot category under the Compute button on the left-hand side of the screen.
Here, Users can browse the various Instance Snapshots that have been created and interact with them.

Restoring an Instance from an Instance Snapshot

Log in to OpenCloud with provided credentials.
First, the Instance that will be reverted from a snapshot will need to be stopped. Verify that this has been done beforehand. For more information on Stopping Instances, please refer to the Instances KB.
Click on Compute > Instance Snapshots.
Snapshots that have the word “Ready” in their state descriptor are healthy and can be used for Snapshot Rollback functions.
Click into the specific Snapshot to go into it's details and access its functions.
The snapshot page has a lot of useful information on it including the name of the Instance that the snapshot belongs to, the Domain it belongs to, the account that created the Snapshot, and the Zone the Snapshot is stored in. Snapshots cannot be replicated between Zones, so they will always exist within one OpenCloud Zone.
To revert an Instance from a snapshot, click on the Revert to Instance Snapshot button.
A new window will pop up.
Click on OK to continue the process.
A notification box will pop up at the top of the screen that shows the progress of the process. The progress can also be seen in the Notifications section by clicking on the Bell Icon next to the username on the upper right corner.
Once the task is complete, the Instance can be started again. The Instance OS should then be reverted to the Snapshot.

Creating a Volume Snapshot (one-time)

Log in to OpenCloud with provided credentials.
Each Instance in OpenCloud has corresponding Volumes and they should be accessed via the Instance menu to make sure the right Volume is being backed up. The next instructions assume that the details of the Instance/Volume to take a snapshot have already been confirmed.
On the main page, click on the Compute > Instance menu.
Click into the specific Instance that holds the Volume that needs a snapshot.
In the Instance view, click on the Volumes tab on the right side menu. A list of Volumes that are attached to this specific Instance will be displayed. We advise that the Volumes attached to Instances should be named according to their location inside the OS. If the Volumes are not named, refer to the Edit Volume Name section in the Storage portion of the documentation to name them before creating Snapshots for easier reference.
Click on the name of that Volume.
The Volume details page itself will have information as well as function options in the upper right corner.
Click on the Take Snapshot button in the upper right corner.
A new window will pop up.
There are a few options to be aware of here. The name of the Volume snapshot is important, so fill it out with as much information as possible. The Instance name and Drive should be mentioned.
The Zones that the Volume snapshot will be replicated to are important. The Zone that the Volume resides in will automatically get a Snapshot. Volume snapshots can be sent to remote Zones for a remote copy by placing the name of the Zone in the dropdown.
The Quiesce Instance and Async snapshot Functions should not be selected unless the Volume snapshot requires them. (THIS MAY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE).
Once all the details have been filled in, click OK.
The alert toast will pop up at the top of the screen and the activity will be represented in the Alerts dropdown.
Depending on how large the Volume is, the snapshot may take some time.
To see the progress of the Volume Snapshot, click the Storage dropdown and select Volume Snapshots.
Click on the Snapshot that was made. It will show “Creating” and have a Blue Circle in the State column.
To drill into the Volume details, click on the Events heading in the Volume Snapshot details page.
The events that led up to the start of the Volume Snapshot and its creation will be listed.
To confirm that the Volume Snapshot was replicated successfully across Zones, select the Zones heading on the Volume Snapshot details page.
If replication between Zones is successful, both Zones will have a copy of the Volume Snapshot with the BackedUp status and Yes in the Ready column.
These Volume Snapshots are now ready to be used for various functions.

Restore Volume from Snapshot

Warning

Volume Snapshot recovery will not work if an Instance Snapshot of the same Instance exists. To recover a Volume Snapshot, all Instance Snapshots of the Instance that the Volume came from must be removed.

Log in to OpenCloud with defined credentials.
Make sure that Volume that should be restored as well as the date and time of the Volume Snapshot is noted.
Before a Volume Snapshot can be restored, no Instance Snapshots of the same INSTANCE can exist.
The next instructions assume that the details of the Volume to be restored have already been recorded. If not, do not go further without confirming the Volume to restore and what Instance it belongs to.
Before reverting a volume snapshot, the INSTANCE that the Volume is attached to must be in a shutdown state. If the Volume is not attached to an Instance, then a new Volume can be made from the Snapshot without turning anything off.
Click on the Storage drop down on the left side of the screen and then click on Volume Snapshots inside that drop down.
Find the Volume Snapshot to restore and click into it by clicking on its name.
Inside the Volume Snapshot, there will a Revert to Snapshot button in the upper right corner of the screen. Click this option to begin the process.
A new screen will pop up asking for confirmation. Click OK.
The restore notification toast pop up on the screen and the restore will be active in the Events screen found by clicking on the bell icon by the login name.
Once the Volume Restore is completed, the Instance that contains the Volume that was restored can be started again.
Once the Instance is powered up, the newly restored drive must be placed in an “Online” state in the OS Disk Management section.

Creating a Volume Snapshot from an Instance Snapshot

This function can be used to make new Volumes, or disks, from an existing Instance Snapshots.
The Volume Snapshot created can then be used to attach the same Volumes to a new Instance or can be sent to a new Zone.
Again, only ROOT or OS drives should be replicated across Zones as a new Instance will not be able to boot from a DATA Volume that is turned into a Template.
Log in to OpenCloud and select Compute > Instance Snapshots
Select the Instance Snapshot that should be used to create the Volume Snapshot and click on its name.
From this screen, confirm that the right snapshot is selected.
To start the process of making a Volume Snapshot from an Instance Snapshot, select the Create Snapshot from Instance Snapshot function at the top right of the screen.
A new window will appear.
Select the specific Volume from the Instance Snapshot that a snapshot should be taken of as well as set the name of that specific Snapshot.
After setting these options, click OK to start the process. A notification will pop up in the upper right of the screen and the process of the snapshot can be monitored by clicking the bell icon by the login name in the upper right-hand corner.
When the Volume Snapshot is done, click on Storage > Volume Snapshots. The newly created Volume Snapshot should be there and ready for use.
Click into the new Snapshot to confirm it looks correct.

Replicating a Volume Snapshot between Zones

Log in to OpenCloud and click on Storage > Volume Snapshots.
A list of the Volume Snapshots that exist will come up.
Select the Volume Snapshot by clicking on its name. Its specific details page will come up.
Select Zones from the left side menu to see the Zones that the Volume Snapshot is currently stored in.
To copy a Volume Snapshot to another Zone, select the Copy Snapshot option on the right hand side of the page. It will look like two pages.
A new window will appear. Select the Zone that the Snapshot should be replicated to.
Select Ok. The copy process will start and the new Zone will be represented on the list of Zones that the Snapshot is available in.
Once the process is done, the Volume will be stored in both Zones and can be used for DR recovery purposes.

Creating a Scheduled Volume Snapshot Plan

Log in to OpenCloud and click on Compute > Instances.
Locate the Instance that has the Volume that should have a scheduled snapshot.
Click on the Instance name to go into its details page.
Select Volumes from the list on left hand side of the screen.
Select the specific Volume to take a snapshot of by clicking on its name.
In the upper right corner, select the Recurring Snapshots button.
Set up the Schedule according to the required specifications. The snapshot interval can be set for minutes, days, weeks, or months. Set the time of day when the snapshot should start and how many snapshots to keep. Select the specific Timezone that the Instance and Volume exist in. All snapshots are full, which mean that they will take up the full space required for the Volume. These snapshots can be set to replicate across multiple Zones for redundancy. Select at least one additional Zone for replication. These snapshots can be used to restore Instances in other Zones, so there will always be a snapshot replication target Zone.
Once the Schedule is set up, a confirmation message will pop up. Once the snapshot schedule has run, clicking on the Recurring Snapshots button will show the set snapshot schedule in the Scheduled Snapshots header
The snapshots will run and the Events can be checked to make sure they are working as intended.

Creating a Template from a Snapshot

Volume Snapshots can be used to create new Instance Templates to spin up additional Instances. Only Snapshots of the ROOT Disks in Instances can be used as they would contain the OS of the Instance. Snapshots made of Data Drives cannot be used to create additional Templates or Instances.
To perform this task, first click on Storage and then Volume Snapshots from the OpenCloud main page.
Find the Volume Snapshot to be used and then click on its name.
Once inside the Snapshot details page, click on the button that says Create Template in the upper right corner of the details screen.
Make sure the Volume Snapshot is of a Boot disk. Templates made using non-boot disks will not boot up when used.
A dialog box will appear.
Create a name for the Template and an optional description.
The Template will be created in the specific Zone that the customer domain is in. There should be no need to specify a Domain as all Templates made by this process are immediately added to the Domain.
Specify the OS of the Template. For all Windows Templates, Windows PV should be used.
For all Templates, do not select HVM. Doing so may have adverse effects on your Instance.
Do not select Dynamically Scalable
Once finished, select OK and the Template will be created.

Instance Cloning from a Volume Snapshot

Note

Instances are cloned from the Volume Snapshot of the original Instance's ROOT Disk that contains the OS of the Instance. There is no Instance clone function in OpenCloud but this process can create a new Instance from a Template created from the ROOT Disk Volume Snapshot of the original Instance.

This procedure requires that there are already Volume Snapshot(s) of the ROOT, or OS, Volume for the Instance in question.
Log in to the OpenCloud and select Storage > Volume Snapshots.
Click on the name of the Volume Snapshot that should be used to create a new Instance Template.
Inside its details page, click on Zones and confirm that the Volume Snapshot has been replicated to the correct Zone.
To rebuild an Instance from a replicated Volume Snapshot, first click on the Create Template button.
A new window will open. Enter the Name of the new Template, Description of the Template, and Zone where the Template should be created. This should be the same Zone that the current Volume Snapshot resides in. A customer domain can also be specified if this template creation and restore is for a customer. Select the OS type, which for Windows Instances will be Windows PV. Linux Instances should select their specific flavor of Linux.
Once all the information is added, select Ok.
A message will pop up at the top of the screen and the process of the template creation can be seen by clicking the Notifications button by the login name in the upper right of the screen.
Once the Template is done, select Compute > Instances and click on New Instance.
Choose to create an Instance from Template and select the new Template that was just created from the Volume Snapshot.
Fill out the TemplateCreation Details in accordance with what the Instance should be. Please refer to the Template and Instance KBs for more information if necessary.
Once the Instance Template information is filled out, click OK to create the new Instance. Make sure it powers on and boots to an OS.
The OS should retain the TCP/IP addressing set in it but other OS functions will need to be confirmed by going into the OS itself. US Signal cannot guarantee that the OS will be exactly the same for this new Instance.
If additional Volumes need to be attached to this new Instance Restore, the Instance will need to be stopped and the additional Volumes added.

Volume Cloning to new Instance

Log into OpenCloud and click on Storage > Volumes Snapshots.
Select the Volume Snapshot in question and click on its name.
Confirm that the Snapshot has been replicated to the same Zone that the new Instance has been created into. If it has not, follow the steps above to replicate the Snapshot between Zones.
Click the Create Volume button in the upper right corner. This will open a new window where the User can name the new Volume and choose what Zone it exists in.
Make sure the new Volume is created in the same Zone as the Instance it will be attached to.
Click OK. This will make a new mountable Volume from the Volume Snapshot and set it in the Zone specified.
The Volume will be created.
Go to Storage > Volumes and click on the specific Volume that was just created.
Inside the Volume details, click on the Attach Disk option in the upper right.

1. A new screen will open. Select the Instance that the Volume should attach to. OpenCloud will pick the correct Device ID automatically, so there is no need to specify one. 1. After hitting OK, the Volume will attach to the Instance. Go to that Instance to verify that the volume is attached.
1. The Instance can now be started. The Customer will need to confirm that the OS can see the new disks. The Customer may need to use Disk Management or other tools to bring the new disks online.