Basic of ZFS Snapshot Management
reddit / freebsd

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wondering_around123 · 2021-05-13 12:26

[https://klarasystems.com/articles/basics-of-zfs-snapshot-
management/](https://klarasystems.com/articles/basics-of-zfs-snapshot-
management/)

OpenZFS stands out in its snapshot design, providing powerful and
easy-to-use tools for managing snapshots. Snapshots complement a
backup strategy, as they are instantaneous and don’t require a backup
window. Since snapshots are atomic, they are not affected by other
processes and you don’t have to stop any running applications before
taking a snapshot.

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fireduck · 2021-05-14 01:10

I've been using zfs snapshots for my backups since '08.  I use a
little tool that I made that manages the snapshots.
I don't even know where the source is. I might just have the jar.

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seliopou · 2021-05-14 01:31

[zfsnap](https://www.zfsnap.org) is my go-to for managing snapshots.
It automatically dates snapshots. It also includes an expiry (defaults
to "forever") that the tool can use to automatically clean up old
snapshots.

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NeverSawAvatar · 2021-05-14 02:33

>Since snapshots are atomic, they are not affected by other processes
and you don’t have to stop any running applications before taking a
snapshot.

I mean yes, but if you snapshot while an application is writing that
doesn't understand atomic writes and write barriers, it can still make
a mess for that application.

Just saying, it's amazing, but it's not magic.

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grahamperrin · 2021-05-14 13:01

zfsnap2, yes?

### [sysutils/zfsnap](https://www.freshports.org/sysutils/zfsnap/)

    % zfSnap
    zfSnap v1.11.1 by Aldis Berjoza

    Syntax:
    zfSnap [ generic options ] [ options ] zpool/filesystem ...

    GENERIC OPTIONS:
    -d           = Delete old snapshots
    -e           = Return number of failed actions as exit code.
    -F age       = Force delete all snapshots exceeding age
    -n           = Only show actions that would be performed
    -s           = Don't do anything on pools running resilver
    -S           = Don't do anything on pools running scrub
    -v           = Verbose output
    -z           = Force new snapshots to have 00 seconds!
    -zpool28fix  = Workaround for zpool v28 zfs destroy -r bug

    OPTIONS:
    -a ttl       = Set how long snapshot should be kept
    -D pool/fs   = Delete all zfSnap snapshots of specific pool/fs
(ignore ttl)
    -p prefix    = Use prefix for snapshots after this switch
    -P           = Don't use prefix for snapshots after this switch
    -r           = Create recursive snapshots for all zfs file systems
that
                    fallow this switch
    -R           = Create non-recursive snapshots for all zfs file
systems that
                    fallow this switch

    LINKS:
    wiki:             https://github.com/graudeejs/zfSnap/wiki
    repository:       https://github.com/graudeejs/zfSnap
    Bug tracking:     https://github.com/graudeejs/zfSnap/issues

### [sysutils/zfsnap2](https://www.freshports.org/sysutils/zfsnap2/)

https://man.freebsd.org/zfsnap(8)

    % zfsnap
    zfsnap v2.0.0.beta3

    Syntax:
    zfsnap [ options ] | <command> [ options ] zpool/filesystem ...

    COMMANDS:
    destroy
    recurseback
    snapshot

    OPTIONS:
    -h, --help        = Print this help and exit
    -V, --version     = Print the version number and exit

    MORE HELP:
    All commands accept the -h option; use it for command-specific
help.
    Example: zfsnap snapshot -h

    LINKS:
    website:          http://www.zfsnap.org
    repository:       https://github.com/zfsnap/zfsnap
    bug tracking:     https://github.com/zfsnap/zfsnap/issues

    %