topic Re: snapshot of qtree and not a volume...possible? in ONTAP Discussions

snapshot of qtree and not a volume...possible?

NetappUser2023 — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 09:50:23 GMT

Hello Experts,

We have FAS2720 Ontap Storage version 97P9.

I have a simple query regarding Snapshot. In Theory one can easily setup snapshot of a Volume. But i have a situation wherein this one volume is having multiple Qtrees underneath. I wish to setup a snapshot-backup of only one of the Qtrees.

Lets say it has Qtrees , Q1 - Q50. But only Q5 is what we are interested in and wish to setup snapshot backup of it.

The reason being, simply because each Qtree underneath is 100GB in size and so we do not wish to snapshot all the Qtrees and waste the storage size.

So is it possible to snapshot a single Qtree under a Volume neglecting other Qtrees underneath?

Thanks for the pointers.

Regards,

Admin

Re: snapshot of qtree and not a volume...possible?

Ontapforrum — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 08:02:35 GMT

No. It is not possible, b'cos the ONTAP Snapshot operate at VOLUME level. And, b'cos it happens at volume (BLOCK) level, it's very space efficient. It does not matter how many qtrees/directories/files are there at file-system level, it will only occupy additional space if there has been any BLOCK level changes to the active file system since the last Snapshot copy.

https://kb.netapp.com/onprem/ontap/os/Snapshots%3A_including_SnapShot_Issues_and_Solutions

Re: snapshot of qtree and not a volume...possible?

NetappUser2023 — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 08:08:42 GMT

Thanks Ontapforrum for the reply. Ok understood. So then at Qtree level we have less / no control in terms of Snapshot backups. If i wish to setup different schedules for different Qtrees then it is not possible. Right? Sad.

Because not all Qtrees under a volume have same snapshot requirements.

Re: snapshot of qtree and not a volume...possible?

Ontapforrum — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 09:55:44 GMT

Yes, I totally understand your concern. Even if you have different schedules, they are all pointing to the same Volume underneath. Therefore, having a qtree in its own container (vol) helps. You could move few qtrees (That have completely different snapshot requirements) into their separate/own Volume using NDMPCOPY, that way you can have complete control over them as far as snapshot & Data protection is concerned.