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This page provides information about application-consistent snapshots.
About application-consistent snapshots
Application-consistent snapshots are snapshots taken after the operating system
and application write the current state of the data to storage.
Application-consistent snapshots provide
a clear recovery point for the application; you can use them to create
consistent clones of the application.
Application-consistent snapshots versus crash-consistent snapshots
Crash-consistent snapshots are outdated snapshots of your data due to client
caching. Crash-consistent snapshots can help you recover data and work well
for a majority of applications. However, some data in storage might be
outdated at the time of recovery because it's kept in operating system and
application caches for some time before it's written to storage.
Create an application-consistent snapshot
We recommend that you synchronize snapshot creation with dedicated recovery
points of your application. To use NetApp Volumes snapshots to
create application-consistent snapshots, complete the following actions:
Flush all unwritten data from the application caches to storage. Many
applications, such as databases, provide built-in mechanisms for this
procedure. Consult your application documentation for more information.
Alternatively, you can stop the application briefly.
Take a snapshot of the volume. Snapshots take a few seconds to generate.
Return your application to its normal state of operation.
This procedure lets you create consistent snapshots of large application
datasets within a few seconds.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Create application-consistent snapshots\n\nThis page provides information about application-consistent snapshots.\n\nAbout application-consistent snapshots\n--------------------------------------\n\nApplication-consistent snapshots are snapshots taken after the operating system\nand application write the current state of the data to storage.\nApplication-consistent snapshots provide\na clear recovery point for the application; you can use them to create\nconsistent clones of the application.\n\nApplication-consistent snapshots versus crash-consistent snapshots\n------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nCrash-consistent snapshots are outdated snapshots of your data due to client\ncaching. Crash-consistent snapshots can help you recover data and work well\nfor a majority of applications. However, some data in storage might be\noutdated at the time of recovery because it's kept in operating system and\napplication caches for some time before it's written to storage.\n\nCreate an application-consistent snapshot\n-----------------------------------------\n\nWe recommend that you synchronize snapshot creation with dedicated recovery\npoints of your application. To use NetApp Volumes snapshots to\ncreate application-consistent snapshots, complete the following actions:\n\n1. Flush all unwritten data from the application caches to storage. Many\n applications, such as databases, provide built-in mechanisms for this\n procedure. Consult your application documentation for more information.\n\n Alternatively, you can stop the application briefly.\n2. Take a snapshot of the volume. Snapshots take a few seconds to generate.\n\n3. Return your application to its normal state of operation.\n\nThis procedure lets you create consistent snapshots of large application\ndatasets within a few seconds.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n[Manage your snapshots](/netapp/volumes/docs/configure-and-use/volume-snapshots/manage-snapshots)."]]
