Create a volume from a snapshot

If you want to access the data of a snapshot (without provisioning a entirely new identical instance from an image), you would first need to create a new volume based on the data in the snapshot (the actual snapshot cannot be manipulated as there are dependencies to it within the volume that houses it).

When doing this, the new volume will be separate from the original volume and will forthwith provide its data in its own right. The version of the data would be from the time of when the snapshot was taken. The new volume could be attached (see subsection of our guide Creating a persistent volume for more info on attaching a volume) to any instance or used as base to create an entirely new instance (if it was a boot volume).

Note

If your intent is to create a new instance based on a volume, using OpenStack Horizon there is an option in the dropdown on the row of each snapshot to use it as base for a new instance, this would be the easiest and fastest approach.

Cloud management portal

The cloud management portal cannot create a volume based on a snapshot but can create it based on a current volume. See Creating a persistent volume for more information.

OpenStack Horizon

To create a volume from a snapshot using OpenStack Horizon, follow these steps:

  • Under “project”, click “Volumes” and then “Snapshots” in the sidebar menu.

  • In the drop-down menu to the far right of the line corresponding to the snapshot you want to use as base, press “create volume (which is either the default option or in the drop-down list)”.

  • Name your new volume and optionally give it a description.

  • If you want to increase the size, enter the new size in the “Size” field.

  • Press “Create volume”.

OpenStack Terminal Client

To create a volume from a snapshot using the OpenStack terminal client, follow these steps:

  • Run this command: openstack volume snapshot list, save the ID of the snapshot you want to backup.

  • Run this command: openstack volume create --snapshot [SNAPSHOT_ID] [VOLUME_NAME], replacing the items in angle brackets with the ID from previous step and a descriptive name for the new volume.

  • Run this command to verify: openstack volume list, the new volume will have a “Status” of “available” when done.

See also