ABS snapshots operate on a volume-by-volume basis. The purpose of a snapshot is to preserve the data of a volume at the moment the snapshot is taken. This enables cloning a new volume from the snapshot or rolling back the snapshot to restore the volume to its state at the time the snapshot was taken.
Unlike data redundancy mechanisms such as replication or erasure coding, which protect data from hardware failures, snapshot technology is primarily used to prevent data corruption or loss caused by human error or software malfunctions.
