EBS snapshots can come in handy for data backup purposes, this is why many webmasters choose to create a snapshot right after introducing data to a new Amazon EBS volume. Unfortunately, some IT professionals still disregard the importance of these snapshots, unaware of their numerous benefits. Here are 5 reasons you should use EBS snapshots:
1. Easy-To-Use Snapshot Deletion Process
In order to understand what makes the deletion process easy to use, comprehensive and user-oriented, it is important to know that the snapshots do not occur in a synchronized manner and that they are saved incrementally. Even so, the process is created in such a way that only the most recent snapshot will be required to restore the Amazon EBS volume – all the other snaps can be deleted.
Otherwise stated, you can restore the volume quickly and without the hassles – all you need is the most recent shot (and in addition to this, you can easily make them public or share them with other people). Be careful, though, as these snapshots are only capable to reproduce the data that has been introduced in the EBS volume by the time you issue the snapshot command.
2. Fast And Efficient Leverage
Another one of the 5 reasons you should use EBS snapshots is that you can easily leverage the elastic block store shots to design a comprehensive copy of the Amazon data volume. These snapshots are so versatile that you can even use them in order to backup the MySQL database in a matter of minutes. Nonetheless, there are several steps that need to be taken prior to using the EBS to backup the MySQL database: flushing all the data to disk, locking the disk and only afterwards you can take the snapshot and restore the data.
3. Reducing The Overall Costs
Another obvious benefit of using these snapshots is that you can easily reduce the costs by simply choosing to provision the copies EBS volumes solely when needed. Basically, these copies are created on demand and they can be deleted when you no longer need them.
4. Automated Process
The entire process can be configured in such a way that it will be automated and allow multiple instances to be launched at the same time. This is a time-effective and cost-effective solution, although it must be said that this relies mainly on the snapshot technique that is being used.
5. The Overall Performance Of The Snapshots Is Now Improved
Last, but not least, the performance of each snapshot copy is dramatically improved, thus allowing you to copy snapshots to different regions in a fast, efficient and timely way. In turn, this will also allow you to develop other applications without too much effort. The extent of this improvement partially depends on the amount of information that has been change since the previous snapshot copy. In other words, another one of the 5 reasons you should use EBS snapshots is that this can be a great disaster recovery strategy for large corporations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are the most important 5 reasons you should use EBS snapshots to secure data, in case something happens to the volumes.