---
title: "A snapshot is not a backup"
description: "A snapshot points at the same disks as the running virtual machine, so it disappears with the datastore."
url: https://howtobackupvm.com/en/blog/snapshot-vs-backup/
---

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# A snapshot is not a backup

A snapshot points at the same disks as the running virtual machine, so it disappears with the datastore.

Published 2026-01-12· HowToBackupVM editors

A snapshot records the difference from a base disk. It is useful before a patch, and it is still stored with the virtual machine. If the datastore, the array, or the host volume fails, the snapshot fails with it.

A backup is a separate copy on other storage, ideally in another failure domain. Keep the snapshot only for the short window of a change, then commit or delete it so the chain does not grow without limit.

Treat the snapshot as a convenience and the backup as the recovery copy. Write down which jobs create the independent copy and where that copy lives.

## Questions

On storage that does not share the production datastore, rack power, or backup admin password.

A boot of the restored guest on an isolated network, plus a recent application record.

Daily for two to four weeks, weekly for a few months, and monthly for the period your contract names.

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