Working with snapshots

What is a snapshot

Snapshots of both virtual computers and disks can be created in Lightsail for Research (LSfR). You can think of these snapshots as back-ups of your virtual computer or disk.

As with backing up your computer, it is recommended to save snapshots frequently so that no data is lost. We recommend doing this once a week.

Snapshots can be used to restore or create a new virtual computer or disk. This is particularly helpful if you need to restore a virtual computer or disk that has crashed for any reason.
When restoring a virtual computer from a snapshot, you can change the instance size and select a different configuration for vCPUs and memory.
When restoring a disk from a snapshot, you can change the total storage.

More information on snapshots

For more information on snapshots see the AWS documentation on snapshots.

Creating a snapshot

Follow the below instructions to create a snapshot of a virtual computer or disk.

Navigate to the Snapshots section of the LSfR console. Here you will see a list of all your virtual computers, disks, and any existing snapshots.
Choose the virtual computer or disk that you would like to snapshot from the list and select Create snapshot.
You will then be prompted to provide a descriptive name for your snapshot. It can be helpful to include the date of the snapshot in the name. Once a name has been created, click Create snapshot.
Each virtual computer and disk will have a drop-down menu listing all snapshots associated with that virtual computer or disk. Once your snapshot has been created you should be able to see the snapshot listed in that menu.

Creating a new virtual computer or disk from a snapshot

Find the virtual computer or disk with the snapshot you would like to create a new virtual computer or disk from. Open up the snapshot drop-down menu and select the snapshot you would like to use.
With the snapshot selected, use the Actions drop-down menu to select Create virtual computer. If creating a disk from a disk snapshot, select Create disk.
Give your new virtual computer or disk a descriptive name. Pick the instance size or disk size from the menu options.

By default, the same instance size or disk size will be selected, but if you would like to re-size please choose a different option from the menu.
- Refer to these guidelines when choosing an instance size.
- Remember that you have a monthly budget for any computational resources you use.
Once you have chosen your size, select either Create virtual computer or Create disk. New virtual computer will be listed under the Virtual computers section, and new disks will be in the Storage section of LSfR.

Warning

If you are creating a new virtual computer, please be sure to follow the instructions below to create a cost control rule. A cost control rule ensures that your virtual computer does not continue to run when not actively in use, lowering your total cost.

If you created a new disk, be sure to attach your disk to a virtual computer before proceeding.

Creating a cost control rule

If you have created a new virtual computer from a snapshot, you must add a cost control rule. Unlike when you create a virtual computer from scratch, cost control rules are not automatically added when you create a virtual computer from a snapshot.

Tip

A cost control rule sets the minimum number of CPUs needed for AWS to keep the virtual computer running. When you use less than the minimum number of CPUs for a set amount of time, the virtual computer will shut down, but remain active in your account for future use.

Select the virtual computer you have created from the Virtual computers section and scroll all the way down to the Cost control rules section. Select Create cost control rule.
A menu will pop up where you can set the minimum CPU utilization and time period. Please keep the default setting of 5% and 10 minutes. This means if the instance is using less than 5% of the total available CPUs for at least 10 minutes, the instance will temporarily shut down.
You will then be asked to confirm your choices, click Confirm.