# Create a Snapshot

You can create snapshots from any provisioned block storage, regardless of the underlying storage type.

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**Prerequisites:**

* Ensure that you have enough HDD quotas available before you create a snapshot. Upon snapshot creation, it utilizes the complete HDD storage space assigned to your IONOS Cloud account.
* If you want to ensure that data still in the VM's RAM is included in the snapshot, it is recommended that you synchronize the data using `sync` under Linux or shut down the guest Operating System (OS) using `shutdown -h now` under Linux before creating the snapshot.
* Only contract administrators, owners, and users with the **Create Snapshot** permission can create a snapshot. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions.
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To create a Snapshot, follow these steps:

1\. In the **DCD**, go to **Menu** > **Virtual Data Centers**.

2\. From **My Virtual Data Centers**, select and click the data center name to open it in the workspace.

3\. *(Optional)* Shut down the required server in the workspace. Creating a snapshot while the server is running takes longer. For more information, see [<mark style="color:blue;">Stop, Start, or Reset a vCPU Server</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/sections-test/guides/compute-services/compute-engine/how-tos/set-up-vcpu#stop-start-or-reset-a-vcpu-server).

4\. Right-click on the storage element of the server in the workspace and select **Create Snapshot**.

![Create a Snapshot](https://1737632334-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MifAzdGvKLDTtvJP8sm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-fcd94a9f8cd6e1759573060888bd4c3bd60eb742%2Fcreate-snapshot.png?alt=media)

5\. In the **Create Snapshot** window, enter the following details:

* **Name:** Enter a name to identify the storage snapshot uniquely.
* **Description:** Add details about the snapshot to describe it.
* **OS Type:** From the drop-down list, select the type of Operating System (OS) for the snapshot. This refers to the OS type the snapshot is associated with. The OS type tells the cloud platform or virtualization environment which kind of OS (Linux, Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, etc.) the disk or VM snapshot is intended for.

![Add Name, Description, and OS Type for the Snapshot creation](https://1737632334-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MifAzdGvKLDTtvJP8sm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-2ec3163777f265a0a0bd90057e16811f1b9bbcc3%2Fcreate-snapshot-enter-details.png?alt=media)

6\. Click **Create Snapshot** to start the process.

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**Note:** Once the snapshot creation process is initiated, it can take a few minutes for the action to be completed. In the **DCD**, go to **Menu** > **Storage & Backup** > **Images & Snapshots** > **Snapshot** tab, which shows the snapshot being added with an **In progress** state.
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**Result:** The snapshot is successfully created. It is listed in **Images & Snapshots** > **Snapshot** tab.
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