Your IP : 216.73.217.13

Current Path : /snap/lxd/current/share/lxd-documentation/howto/storage_backup_volume/
Upload File :
Current File : //snap/lxd/current/share/lxd-documentation/howto/storage_backup_volume/index.html

<!doctype html>
<html class="no-js" lang="en" data-content_root="../../">
  <head><meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
    <meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<meta property="og:title" content="How to back up custom storage volumes" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
<meta property="og:url" content="/howto/storage_backup_volume/" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="LXD documentation" />
<meta property="og:description" content="There are different ways of backing up your custom storage volumes: Use snapshots for volume backup, Use export files for volume backup, Copy custom storage volumes. Which method to choose depends ..." />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://documentation.ubuntu.com/lxd/latest/_static/lxd_tag.png" />
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="LXD documentation" />
<meta name="description" content="There are different ways of backing up your custom storage volumes: Use snapshots for volume backup, Use export files for volume backup, Copy custom storage volumes. Which method to choose depends ..." />

    <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2025-09-08T08:26:47+00:00" /><link rel="index" title="Index" href="../../genindex/"><link rel="search" title="Search" href="../../search/"><link rel="next" title="How to move or copy storage volumes" href="../storage_move_volume/"><link rel="prev" title="How to create an instance in a specific storage pool" href="../storage_create_instance/">
        <link rel="canonical" href="/howto/storage_backup_volume/">

    <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../../_static/favicon.ico"><!-- Generated with Sphinx 7.4.7 and Furo 2025.12.19 -->
        <title>How to back up custom storage volumes - LXD documentation</title>
      <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/pygments.css?v=d111a655" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/styles/furo.css?v=7bdb33bb" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/copybutton.css?v=76b2166b" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/config-options.css" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/related-links.css" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/terminal.css" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/youtube.css" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/sphinx-design.min.css?v=95c83b7e" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/tabs.css?v=a5c4661c" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/styles/furo-extensions.css?v=8dab3a3b" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/lxd_custom.css?v=bfbf4da2" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/cookie-banner.css?v=b74831ab" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/custom.css?v=e189117a" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/header.css?v=a8078839" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/github_issue_links.css?v=3d761185" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../_static/furo_colors.css?v=825fec6f" />
    
</head>
  <body>
    <header id="header" class="p-navigation">
  <!-- Google Tag Manager -->
  <script>
    (function(w, d, s, l, i) {
      w[l] = w[l] || [];
      w[l].push({
        'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),
        event: 'gtm.js'
      });
      var f = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
      var j = d.createElement(s);
      var dl = '';
      if (l != 'dataLayer') {
          dl = '&l=' + l;
      }
      j.async = true;
      j.src = 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=' + i + dl;
      f.parentNode.insertBefore(j, f);
    })(window, document, 'script', 'dataLayer', 'GTM-KNX3CJC');
  </script>
  
  <div class="p-navigation__nav" role="menubar">

    <ul class="p-navigation__links" role="menu">

      <li>
        
        <a class="p-logo" href="https://canonical.com/lxd" aria-current="page">
          <img src="../../_static/lxd_tag.png" alt="Logo" class="p-logo-image">
          <div class="p-logo-text p-heading--4">LXD
          </div>
        </a>
        
      </li>

      <li class="nav-ubuntu-com">
        
        <a href="https://canonical.com/lxd" class="p-navigation__link">canonical.com/lxd</a>
        
      </li>

      <li class="nav-dropdown">
        <a href="#" class="p-navigation__link nav-more-links"
           id="more-resources-toggle"
           aria-haspopup="true"
           aria-expanded="false">
          More resources
        </a>
        <ul class="more-links-dropdown" aria-labelledby="more-resources-toggle">
          
          <li>
            <a href="https://discourse.ubuntu.com/c/lxd/" class="p-navigation__sub-link p-dropdown__link">Discourse</a>
          </li>
          
      
          
      
          
          <li>
            <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#documentation:ubuntu.com" class="p-navigation__sub-link p-dropdown__link">Matrix</a>
          </li>
          
      
          
          <li>
            <a href="https://github.com/canonical/lxd" class="p-navigation__sub-link p-dropdown__link">GitHub</a>
          </li>
          

        </ul>
      </li>

    </ul>
  </div>
</header>
   
    <script>
      document.body.dataset.theme = localStorage.getItem("theme") || "auto";
    </script>
    

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="display: none;">
  <symbol id="svg-toc" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Contents</title>
    <svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 1024 1024">
      <path d="M408 442h480c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8H408c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8zm-8 204c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h480c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8H408c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56zm504-486H120c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h784c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8zm0 632H120c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h784c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8zM115.4 518.9L271.7 642c5.8 4.6 14.4.5 14.4-6.9V388.9c0-7.4-8.5-11.5-14.4-6.9L115.4 505.1a8.74 8.74 0 0 0 0 13.8z"/>
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-menu" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Menu</title>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="feather-menu">
      <line x1="3" y1="12" x2="21" y2="12"></line>
      <line x1="3" y1="6" x2="21" y2="6"></line>
      <line x1="3" y1="18" x2="21" y2="18"></line>
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-arrow-right" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Expand</title>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="feather-chevron-right">
      <polyline points="9 18 15 12 9 6"></polyline>
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-sun" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Light mode</title>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="feather-sun">
      <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="5"></circle>
      <line x1="12" y1="1" x2="12" y2="3"></line>
      <line x1="12" y1="21" x2="12" y2="23"></line>
      <line x1="4.22" y1="4.22" x2="5.64" y2="5.64"></line>
      <line x1="18.36" y1="18.36" x2="19.78" y2="19.78"></line>
      <line x1="1" y1="12" x2="3" y2="12"></line>
      <line x1="21" y1="12" x2="23" y2="12"></line>
      <line x1="4.22" y1="19.78" x2="5.64" y2="18.36"></line>
      <line x1="18.36" y1="5.64" x2="19.78" y2="4.22"></line>
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-moon" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Dark mode</title>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon-tabler-moon">
      <path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none" />
      <path d="M12 3c.132 0 .263 0 .393 0a7.5 7.5 0 0 0 7.92 12.446a9 9 0 1 1 -8.313 -12.454z" />
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-sun-with-moon" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Auto light/dark, in light mode</title>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"
      class="icon-custom-derived-from-feather-sun-and-tabler-moon">
      <path style="opacity: 50%" d="M 5.411 14.504 C 5.471 14.504 5.532 14.504 5.591 14.504 C 3.639 16.319 4.383 19.569 6.931 20.352 C 7.693 20.586 8.512 20.551 9.25 20.252 C 8.023 23.207 4.056 23.725 2.11 21.184 C 0.166 18.642 1.702 14.949 4.874 14.536 C 5.051 14.512 5.231 14.5 5.411 14.5 L 5.411 14.504 Z"/>
      <line x1="14.5" y1="3.25" x2="14.5" y2="1.25"/>
      <line x1="14.5" y1="15.85" x2="14.5" y2="17.85"/>
      <line x1="10.044" y1="5.094" x2="8.63" y2="3.68"/>
      <line x1="19" y1="14.05" x2="20.414" y2="15.464"/>
      <line x1="8.2" y1="9.55" x2="6.2" y2="9.55"/>
      <line x1="20.8" y1="9.55" x2="22.8" y2="9.55"/>
      <line x1="10.044" y1="14.006" x2="8.63" y2="15.42"/>
      <line x1="19" y1="5.05" x2="20.414" y2="3.636"/>
      <circle cx="14.5" cy="9.55" r="3.6"/>
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-moon-with-sun" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <title>Auto light/dark, in dark mode</title>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"
      class="icon-custom-derived-from-feather-sun-and-tabler-moon">
      <path d="M 8.282 7.007 C 8.385 7.007 8.494 7.007 8.595 7.007 C 5.18 10.184 6.481 15.869 10.942 17.24 C 12.275 17.648 13.706 17.589 15 17.066 C 12.851 22.236 5.91 23.143 2.505 18.696 C -0.897 14.249 1.791 7.786 7.342 7.063 C 7.652 7.021 7.965 7 8.282 7 L 8.282 7.007 Z"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="18" y1="3.705" x2="18" y2="2.5"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="18" y1="11.295" x2="18" y2="12.5"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="15.316" y1="4.816" x2="14.464" y2="3.964"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="20.711" y1="10.212" x2="21.563" y2="11.063"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="14.205" y1="7.5" x2="13.001" y2="7.5"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="21.795" y1="7.5" x2="23" y2="7.5"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="15.316" y1="10.184" x2="14.464" y2="11.036"/>
      <line style="opacity: 50%" x1="20.711" y1="4.789" x2="21.563" y2="3.937"/>
      <circle style="opacity: 50%" cx="18" cy="7.5" r="2.169"/>
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-pencil" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon-tabler-pencil-code">
      <path d="M4 20h4l10.5 -10.5a2.828 2.828 0 1 0 -4 -4l-10.5 10.5v4" />
      <path d="M13.5 6.5l4 4" />
      <path d="M20 21l2 -2l-2 -2" />
      <path d="M17 17l-2 2l2 2" />
    </svg>
  </symbol>
  <symbol id="svg-eye" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor"
      stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon-tabler-eye-code">
      <path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none" />
      <path d="M10 12a2 2 0 1 0 4 0a2 2 0 0 0 -4 0" />
      <path
        d="M11.11 17.958c-3.209 -.307 -5.91 -2.293 -8.11 -5.958c2.4 -4 5.4 -6 9 -6c3.6 0 6.6 2 9 6c-.21 .352 -.427 .688 -.647 1.008" />
      <path d="M20 21l2 -2l-2 -2" />
      <path d="M17 17l-2 2l2 2" />
    </svg>
  </symbol>
</svg>

<input type="checkbox" class="sidebar-toggle" name="__navigation" id="__navigation" aria-label="Toggle site navigation sidebar">
<input type="checkbox" class="sidebar-toggle" name="__toc" id="__toc" aria-label="Toggle table of contents sidebar">
<label class="overlay sidebar-overlay" for="__navigation"></label>
<label class="overlay toc-overlay" for="__toc"></label>

<a class="skip-to-content muted-link" href="#furo-main-content">Skip to content</a>



<div class="page">
  <header class="mobile-header">
    <div class="header-left">
      <label class="nav-overlay-icon" for="__navigation">
        <span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-menu"></use></svg></span>
      </label>
    </div>
    <div class="header-center">
      <a href="../../"><div class="brand">LXD documentation</div></a>
    </div>
    <div class="header-right">
      <div class="theme-toggle-container theme-toggle-header">
        <button class="theme-toggle" aria-label="Toggle Light / Dark / Auto color theme">
          <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto-light"><use href="#svg-sun-with-moon"></use></svg>
          <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto-dark"><use href="#svg-moon-with-sun"></use></svg>
          <svg class="theme-icon-when-dark"><use href="#svg-moon"></use></svg>
          <svg class="theme-icon-when-light"><use href="#svg-sun"></use></svg>
        </button>
      </div>
      <label class="toc-overlay-icon toc-header-icon" for="__toc">
        <span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-toc"></use></svg></span>
      </label>
    </div>
  </header>
  <aside class="sidebar-drawer">
    <div class="sidebar-container">
      
      <div class="sidebar-sticky"><a class="sidebar-brand" href="../../">
  
  <span class="sidebar-brand-text">LXD documentation</span>
  
</a><form class="sidebar-search-container" method="get" action="../../search/" role="search">
    <input class="sidebar-search" placeholder="Search" name="q" aria-label="Search">
    <input type="submit" value="Go">
    <input type="hidden" name="check_keywords" value="yes">
    <input type="hidden" name="area" value="default">
  </form>
  <div id="searchbox"></div><div class="sidebar-scroll"><div class="sidebar-tree">
  <ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../../">LXD</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../../tutorial/first_steps/">Tutorial</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l1 current has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../">How-to guides</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of How-to guides" checked="" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-1" name="toctree-checkbox-1" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-1"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../getting_started/">Getting started</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Getting started" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-2" name="toctree-checkbox-2" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-2"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../installing/">Install LXD</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../initialize/">Initialize LXD</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../access_ui/">Access the UI</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../access_documentation/">Access documentation locally</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../operation/">LXD server and client</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of LXD server and client" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-3" name="toctree-checkbox-3" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-3"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../server_expose/">Expose LXD to the network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../server_configure/">Configure the LXD server</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../oidc/">Configure single sign-on with OIDC</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Configure single sign-on with OIDC" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-4" name="toctree-checkbox-4" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-4"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../oidc_auth0/">How to configure Auth0</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../oidc_ory/">How to configure Ory Hydra</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../oidc_keycloak/">How to configure Keycloak</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../oidc_entra_id/">How to configure Entra ID</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../remotes/">Add remote servers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../lxc_alias/">Add command aliases</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../instances/">Instances</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Instances" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-5" name="toctree-checkbox-5" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-5"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_create/">Create instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_configure/">Configure instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_manage/">Manage instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../profiles/">Use profiles</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_troubleshoot/">Troubleshoot errors</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_ubuntu_pro_attach/">Auto attach Ubuntu Pro</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_access_files/">Access files</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_console/">Access the console</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../instance-exec/">Run commands</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../cloud-init/">Use cloud-init</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_routed_nic_vm/">Add a routed NIC to a VM</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_backup/">Back up instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_migrate/">Migrate instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../import_machines_to_instances/">Import existing machines</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../container_gpu_passthrough_with_docker/">Pass NVIDIA GPUs</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../images/">Images</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Images" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-6" name="toctree-checkbox-6" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-6"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../images_remote/">Use remote images</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../images_manage/">Manage images</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../images_profiles/">Associate profiles</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../images_copy/">Copy and import images</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../images_create/">Create images</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../projects/">Projects</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Projects" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-7" name="toctree-checkbox-7" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-7"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../projects_create/">Create and configure</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../projects_work/">Work with projects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../projects_confine/">Confine users to projects</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 current has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../storage/">Storage</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Storage" checked="" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-8" name="toctree-checkbox-8" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-8"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_pools/">Manage pools</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_volumes/">Manage volumes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_buckets/">Manage buckets</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_create_instance/">Create an instance in a pool</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3 current current-page"><a class="current reference internal" href="#">Back up a volume</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_move_volume/">Move or copy a volume</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_csi/">Use the LXD CSI driver with Kubernetes</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../networks/">Networking</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Networking" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-9" name="toctree-checkbox-9" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-9"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_create/">Create a network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_configure/">Configure a network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_bgp/">Configure as BGP server</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_acls/">Configure network ACLs</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_forwards/">Configure forwards</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_zones/">Configure network zones</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_bridge_firewalld/">Configure your firewall</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_bridge_resolved/">Integrate with resolved</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_ovn_setup/">Set up OVN</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_load_balancers/">Configure load balancers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_ovn_peers/">Configure peer routing</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_ipam/">Display IPAM information</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../clustering/">Clustering</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Clustering" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-10" name="toctree-checkbox-10" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-10"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_form/">Form a cluster</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_manage/">Manage a cluster</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_config_networks/">Configure networks</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_config_storage/">Configure storage</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_manage_instance/">Manage instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_groups/">Set up cluster groups</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_placement_groups/">Use placement groups</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_recover/">Recover a cluster</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../cluster_vip/">Set up a highly available virtual IP</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../production-setup/">Production setup</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Production setup" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-11" name="toctree-checkbox-11" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-11"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../benchmark_performance/">Benchmark performance</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_increase_bandwidth/">Increase bandwidth</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../metrics/">Monitor metrics</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../logs_loki/">Send logs to Loki</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../grafana/">Set up Grafana</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../backup/">Back up a server</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../disaster_recovery/">Recover instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../disaster_recovery_replication/">Disaster recovery with storage replication</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../snap/">Manage the snap</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../security_harden/">Harden security</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../troubleshoot/">Troubleshooting</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Troubleshooting" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-12" name="toctree-checkbox-12" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-12"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../network_bridge_firewalld/">Configure your firewall</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../instances_troubleshoot/">Troubleshoot instances</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../dqlite_troubleshoot/">Troubleshoot Dqlite</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../debugging/">Debug LXD</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../faq/">Frequently asked</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../support/">Get support</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../contributing/">Contribute to LXD</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../auth_bearer/">How to authenticate to the LXD API using bearer tokens</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../devlxd_authenticate/">How to authenticate to the DevLXD API</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/">Explanation</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Explanation" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-13" name="toctree-checkbox-13" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-13"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/lxd_lxc/"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/instances/">Containers and VMs</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../image-handling/">Local and remote images</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/storage/">Storage pools, volumes, and buckets</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/networks/">Networking setups</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../database/">The LXD Dqlite database</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/lxc_show_info/"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span></code> <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">show</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">info</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../authentication/">Remote API authentication</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/authorization/">Remote API authorization</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/projects/">Instances grouping with projects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/clusters/">Clusters</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/performance_tuning/">Performance tuning</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/security/">Security</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/bpf/">Privilege delegation using BPF Token</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/csi/">The LXD CSI driver</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/">Reference</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Reference" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-14" name="toctree-checkbox-14" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-14"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../requirements/">Requirements</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../architectures/">Architectures</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/release-notes/">Release notes</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Release notes" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-15" name="toctree-checkbox-15" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-15"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/release-notes/release-notes-6.7/">LXD 6.7</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/release-notes/release-notes-6.6/">LXD 6.6</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/releases-snap/">Releases and snap</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/remote_image_servers/">Remote image servers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/image_format/">Image format</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../guest-os-compatibility/">Guest OS compatibility</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../container-environment/">Container environment</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../config-options/">Configuration option index</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../server/">Server configuration</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/instance_config/">Instance configuration</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Instance configuration" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-16" name="toctree-checkbox-16" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-16"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_properties/">Instance properties</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/">Instance options</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices/">Devices</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Devices" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-17" name="toctree-checkbox-17" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-17"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/standard_devices/">Standard devices</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_none/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">none</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_nic/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">nic</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_disk/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">disk</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_unix_char/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">unix-char</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_unix_block/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">unix-block</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_usb/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">usb</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_gpu/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">gpu</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_infiniband/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">infiniband</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_proxy/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">proxy</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_unix_hotplug/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">unix-hotplug</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_tpm/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">tpm</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/devices_pci/">Type: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pci</span></code></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_units/">Units for storage and network limits</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/preseed_yaml_fields/">Preseed YAML file fields</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/projects/">Project configuration</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_drivers/">Storage drivers</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Storage drivers" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-18" name="toctree-checkbox-18" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-18"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_dir/">Directory - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dir</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_btrfs/">Btrfs - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_lvm/">LVM - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lvm</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_zfs/">ZFS - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_ceph/">Ceph RBD - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ceph</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_powerflex/">Dell PowerFlex - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">powerflex</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_pure/">Pure Storage - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pure</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_alletra/">HPE Alletra - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">alletra</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_cephfs/">CephFS - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cephfs</span></code></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_cephobject/">Ceph Object - <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cephobject</span></code></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/networks/">Networks</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Networks" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-19" name="toctree-checkbox-19" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-19"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/network_bridge/">Bridge network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/network_ovn/">OVN network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/network_macvlan/">Macvlan network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/network_physical/">Physical network</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/network_sriov/">SR-IOV network</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/cluster_member_config/">Cluster configuration</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/placement_groups/">Placement group configuration</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/server_settings/">Production server settings</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/provided_metrics/">Provided metrics</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/permissions/">Permissions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../restapi_landing/">REST API</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of REST API" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-20" name="toctree-checkbox-20" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-20"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../rest-api/">Main API documentation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../api/">Main API specification</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../api-extensions/">Main API extensions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../events/">Events API documentation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../dev-lxd/">Instance API</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/driver_csi/">LXD CSI driver reference</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/">Man pages</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Man pages" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-21" name="toctree-checkbox-21" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-21"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span></code></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../../internals/">Internals</a><input aria-label="Toggle navigation of Internals" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-22" name="toctree-checkbox-22" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-22"><span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></span></label><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../environment/">Environment variables</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/uefi_variables/">UEFI variables for VMs</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../daemon-behavior/">Daemon behavior</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../syscall-interception/">System call interception</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../userns-idmap/">User namespace setup</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/ovn-internals/">OVN implementation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/vm_live_migration_internals/">VM live migration implementation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/dqlite-internals/">Dqlite</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/canonical/lxd">Project repository</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="https://images.lxd.canonical.com">Image server</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

</div>
</div>

      </div>
      
    </div>
  </aside>
  <div class="main">
    <div class="content">
      <div class="article-container">
        <a href="#" class="back-to-top muted-link">
          <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
            <path d="M13 20h-2V8l-5.5 5.5-1.42-1.42L12 4.16l7.92 7.92-1.42 1.42L13 8v12z"></path>
          </svg>
          <span>Back to top</span>
        </a>
        <div class="content-icon-container">
          <div class="edit-this-page">
  <a class="muted-link" href="https://github.com/canonical/lxd/edit/main/doc/howto/storage_backup_volume.md" title="Contribute to this page">
    <svg><use href="#svg-pencil"></use></svg>
    <span class="visually-hidden">Contribute to this page</span>
  </a>
</div><div class="theme-toggle-container theme-toggle-content">
            <button class="theme-toggle" aria-label="Toggle Light / Dark / Auto color theme">
              <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto-light"><use href="#svg-sun-with-moon"></use></svg>
              <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto-dark"><use href="#svg-moon-with-sun"></use></svg>
              <svg class="theme-icon-when-dark"><use href="#svg-moon"></use></svg>
              <svg class="theme-icon-when-light"><use href="#svg-sun"></use></svg>
            </button>
          </div>
          <label class="toc-overlay-icon toc-content-icon" for="__toc">
            <span class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-toc"></use></svg></span>
          </label>
        </div>
        <article role="main" id="furo-main-content">
          <section id="how-to-back-up-custom-storage-volumes">
<span id="howto-storage-backup-volume"></span><h1>How to back up custom storage volumes<a class="headerlink" href="#how-to-back-up-custom-storage-volumes" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h1>
<p>There are different ways of backing up your custom storage volumes:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#storage-backup-snapshots"><span class="std std-ref">Use snapshots for volume backup</span></a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#storage-backup-export"><span class="std std-ref">Use export files for volume backup</span></a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="../storage_move_volume/#storage-copy-volume"><span class="std std-ref">Copy custom storage volumes</span></a></p></li>
</ul>
<!-- Include start backup types -->
<p>Which method to choose depends both on your use case and on the storage driver you use.</p>
<p>In general, snapshots are quick and space efficient (depending on the storage driver), but they are stored in the same storage pool as the volume and therefore not too reliable.
Export files can be stored on different disks and are therefore more reliable.
They can also be used to restore the volume into a different storage pool.
If you have a separate, network-connected LXD server available, regularly copying volumes to this other server gives high reliability as well, and this method can also be used to back up snapshots of the volume.</p>
<!-- Include end backup types -->
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Custom storage volumes might be attached to an instance, but they are not part of the instance.
Therefore, the content of a custom storage volume is not stored when you <a class="reference internal" href="../instances_backup/#instances-backup"><span class="std std-ref">back up your instance</span></a>.
You must back up the data of your storage volume separately.</p>
</div>
<section id="use-snapshots-for-volume-backup">
<span id="storage-backup-snapshots"></span><h2>Use snapshots for volume backup<a class="headerlink" href="#use-snapshots-for-volume-backup" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>A snapshot saves the state of the storage volume at a specific time, which makes it easy to restore the volume to a previous state.
It is stored in the same storage pool as the volume itself.</p>
<!-- Include start optimized snapshots -->
<p>Most storage drivers support optimized snapshot creation (see <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_drivers/#storage-drivers-features"><span class="std std-ref">Feature comparison</span></a>).
For these drivers, creating snapshots is both quick and space-efficient.
For the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dir</span></code> driver, snapshot functionality is available but not very efficient.
For the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lvm</span></code> driver, snapshot creation is quick, but restoring snapshots is efficient only when using thin-pool mode.</p>
<!-- Include end optimized snapshots -->
<section id="create-a-snapshot-of-a-custom-storage-volume">
<h3>Create a snapshot of a custom storage volume<a class="headerlink" href="#create-a-snapshot-of-a-custom-storage-volume" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-0-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-0-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-0-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-0-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-0-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-0-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>Use the following command to create a snapshot for a custom storage volume:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume snapshot &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt; [&lt;snapshot_name&gt;]
</pre></div>
</div>
<!-- Include start create snapshot options -->
<p>The snapshot name is optional.
If you don’t specify one, the name follows the naming pattern defined in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.pattern</span></code>.</p>
<p>Add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--reuse</span></code> flag in combination with a snapshot name to replace an existing snapshot.</p>
<p>By default, snapshots are kept forever, unless the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.expiry</span></code> configuration option is set.
To retain a specific snapshot even if a general expiry time is set, use the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--no-expiry</span></code> flag.</p>
<!-- Include end create snapshot options -->
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-0-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-0-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To create a snapshot of a custom storage volume, navigate to the <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span> tab for the target volume and click <span class="guilabel">Create snapshot</span>.</p>
<figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_tab.png"><img alt="LXD Storage Volumes - Snapshots tab" src="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_tab.png" style="width: 80%;" />
</a>
</figure>
<p>In the modal that appears, you can provide the snapshot with a name and expiry date and time. If the name is left blank, a name is automatically assigned to the snapshot based on the global snapshot configuration. If the expiry date and time are left blank, the snapshot does not expire.</p>
<figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_create.png"><img alt="LXD Storage Volumes - Create snapshot" src="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_create.png" style="width: 60%;" />
</a>
</figure>
</div></div>
</section>
<section id="view-edit-or-delete-snapshots">
<span id="storage-edit-snapshots"></span><h3>View, edit or delete snapshots<a class="headerlink" href="#view-edit-or-delete-snapshots" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-1-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-1-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-1-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-1-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-1-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-1-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>Use the following command to display the snapshots for a storage volume:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume info &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>You can view or modify snapshots in a similar way to custom storage volumes, by referring to the snapshot with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;volume_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;</span></code>.</p>
<p>To show information about a snapshot, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume show &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>To edit a snapshot (for example, to add a description or change the expiry date), use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume edit &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>To delete a snapshot, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume delete &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-1-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-1-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To view, edit or delete a storage volume snapshot, navigate to the <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span> tab for the target volume.</p>
<p>Hover over a snapshot row to highlight possible actions, including <span class="guilabel">edit</span>, <span class="guilabel">restore</span> and <span class="guilabel">delete</span>.</p>
<figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_list.png"><img alt="LXD Storage Volumes - Snapshots list" src="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_list.png" style="width: 80%;" />
</a>
</figure>
</div></div>
</section>
<section id="schedule-snapshots-of-a-custom-storage-volume">
<h3>Schedule snapshots of a custom storage volume<a class="headerlink" href="#schedule-snapshots-of-a-custom-storage-volume" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-2-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-2-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-2-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-2-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-2-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-2-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>You can configure a custom storage volume to automatically create snapshots at specific times.
To do so, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.schedule</span></code> configuration option for the storage volume (see <a class="reference internal" href="../storage_volumes/#storage-configure-volume"><span class="std std-ref">Configure storage volume settings</span></a>).</p>
<p>For example, to configure daily snapshots, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume set &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt; snapshots.schedule @daily
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>To configure taking a snapshot every day at 6 am, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume set &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt; snapshots.schedule &quot;0 6 * * *&quot;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>When scheduling regular snapshots, consider setting an automatic expiry (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.expiry</span></code>) and a naming pattern for snapshots (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.pattern</span></code>).
See the <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_drivers/#storage-drivers"><span class="std std-ref">Storage drivers</span></a> documentation for more information about those configuration options.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-2-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-2-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To schedule a snapshot of a storage volume, navigate to the <span class="guilabel">Overview</span> tab of the target volume. Select the <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span> tab and click <span class="guilabel">See configuration</span>.</p>
<figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_configuration.png"><img alt="LXD Storage Volumes - Snapshots list" src="../../_images/storage_volumes_snapshots_configuration.png" style="width: 80%;" />
</a>
</figure>
</div><p>In the resulting modal, you can override the default schedule for automatic volume snapshots. Select the time frame via the <a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron#Cron_expression">Cron expression syntax</a> or a time interval.</p>
</div>
</section>
<section id="restore-a-snapshot-of-a-custom-storage-volume">
<h3>Restore a snapshot of a custom storage volume<a class="headerlink" href="#restore-a-snapshot-of-a-custom-storage-volume" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-3-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-3-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-3-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-3-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-3-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-3-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>You can restore a custom storage volume to the state of any of its snapshots.</p>
<p>To do so, you must first stop all instances that use the storage volume.
Then use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume restore &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt; &lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>You can also restore a snapshot into a new custom storage volume, either in the same storage pool or in a different one (even a remote storage pool).
To do so, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume copy &lt;source_pool_name&gt;/&lt;source_volume_name&gt;/&lt;source_snapshot_name&gt; &lt;target_pool_name&gt;/&lt;target_volume_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-3-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-3-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To restore a storage volume, navigate to the <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span> tab for the target volume, then hover over a snapshot row to view possible actions. Click the <span class="guilabel">restore</span> button.</p>
</div></div>
</section>
</section>
<section id="use-export-files-for-volume-backup">
<span id="storage-backup-export"></span><h2>Use export files for volume backup<a class="headerlink" href="#use-export-files-for-volume-backup" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>You can export the full content of your custom storage volume to a standalone file that can be stored at any location.
For highest reliability, store the backup file on a different file system to ensure that it does not get lost or corrupted.</p>
<section id="export-a-custom-storage-volume">
<h3>Export a custom storage volume<a class="headerlink" href="#export-a-custom-storage-volume" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-4-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-4-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-4-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-4-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-4-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-4-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>Use the following command to export a custom storage volume to a compressed file (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/path/to/my-backup.tgz</span></code>):</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume export &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;volume_name&gt; [&lt;file_path&gt;]
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you do not specify a file path, the export file is saved as <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">backup.tar.gz</span></code> in the working directory.</p>
<div class="admonition warning">
<p class="admonition-title">Warning</p>
<p>If the output file already exists, the command overwrites the existing file without warning.</p>
</div>
<!-- Include start export info -->
<p>You can add any of the following flags to the command:</p>
<dl class="simple myst">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--compression</span></code></dt><dd><p>By default, the output file uses <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">gzip</span></code> compression.
You can specify a different compression algorithm (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">bzip2</span></code>) or turn off compression with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--compression=none</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--optimized-storage</span></code></dt><dd><p>If your storage pool uses the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code> or the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code> driver, add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--optimized-storage</span></code> flag to store the data as a driver-specific binary blob instead of an archive of individual files.
In this case, the export file can only be used with pools that use the same storage driver.</p>
<p>Exporting a volume in optimized mode is usually quicker than exporting the individual files.
Snapshots are exported as differences from the main volume, which decreases their size (quota) and makes them easily accessible.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--export-version</span></code></dt><dd><p>If you intend to import the backup to an older version of LXD, set the version to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">1</span></code> which will use the original (old) backup metadata format.
Backups using the old format can always be imported on newer versions of LXD.
If the flag is not specified and the server has support for the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">backup_metadata_version</span></code> API extension, version <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">2</span></code> is used by default.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<!-- Include end export info -->
<dl class="simple myst">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--volume-only</span></code></dt><dd><p>By default, the export file contains all snapshots of the storage volume.
Add this flag to export the volume without its snapshots.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-4-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-4-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To export a storage volume, navigate to the <span class="guilabel">Overview</span> tab for the target volume and select the <span class="guilabel">Export</span> button.</p>
<p>In the resulting modal, configure the export file for the storage volume, including its compression mode and expiration.</p>
<figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/storage_volumes_export.png"><img alt="LXD Storage Volumes - Export Volume" src="../../_images/storage_volumes_export.png" style="width: 60%;" />
</a>
</figure>
</div></div>
</section>
<section id="restore-a-custom-storage-volume-from-an-export-file">
<h3>Restore a custom storage volume from an export file<a class="headerlink" href="#restore-a-custom-storage-volume-from-an-export-file" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-5-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-5-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-5-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-5-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-5-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-5-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>You can import an export file (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/path/to/my-backup.tgz</span></code>) as a new custom storage volume.
To do so, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc storage volume import &lt;pool_name&gt; &lt;file_path&gt; [&lt;volume_name&gt;]
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you do not specify a volume name, the original name of the exported storage volume is used for the new volume.
If a volume with that name already (or still) exists in the specified storage pool, the command returns an error.
In that case, either delete the existing volume before importing the backup or specify a different volume name for the import.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-5-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-5-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To restore a storage volume from an export file, select <span class="guilabel">Volumes</span> from the main navigation, then click the <span class="guilabel">Create volume</span> button.</p>
<p>Choose the volume file to upload, and select the storage pool for the volume to be created using the export file.</p>
<figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/storage_volumes_import.png"><img alt="LXD Storage Volumes - Upload Volume" src="../../_images/storage_volumes_import.png" style="width: 60%;" />
</a>
</figure>
<div class="note admonition">
<p class="admonition-title">For clustered environments only</p>
<p>Within a clustered environment, if a cluster-member-specific storage pool is selected, you can also configure a target cluster member for the volume.</p>
</div>
</div></div>
</section>
</section>
</section>

        </article>
      </div>
      <footer>
        
   

<div class="related-pages">
  
  
      
  
  
  <a class="next-page" href="../storage_move_volume/">
        <div class="page-info">
          <div class="context">
            <span>Next</span>
          </div>
          <div class="title">How to move or copy storage volumes</div>
        </div>
        <svg class="furo-related-icon"><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg>
      </a>
    <a class="prev-page" href="../storage_create_instance/">
        <svg class="furo-related-icon"><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg>
        <div class="page-info">
          <div class="context">
            <span>Previous</span>
          </div>
          
            <div class="title">How to create an instance in a specific storage pool</div>
          
        </div>
      </a>
</div>
<div class="bottom-of-page">
  <div class="left-details">
    <div class="copyright">
        &copy; 2014-2026 AGPL-3.0, LXD contributors 
    </div><div class="last-updated">
      Last updated on Sep 08, 2025</div>
  </div>
  <div class="right-details">
    
      <a href="" class="js-revoke-cookie-manager muted-link">Manage your tracker settings</a>
</div>

      </footer>
    </div>
    <aside class="toc-drawer">
      
<div class="toc-sticky toc-scroll">
   
    <div class="toc-title-container">
      <span class="toc-title">
       Contents
      </span>
    </div>
    <div class="toc-tree-container">
      <div class="toc-tree">
        <ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">How to back up custom storage volumes</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#use-snapshots-for-volume-backup">Use snapshots for volume backup</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#create-a-snapshot-of-a-custom-storage-volume">Create a snapshot of a custom storage volume</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#view-edit-or-delete-snapshots">View, edit or delete snapshots</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#schedule-snapshots-of-a-custom-storage-volume">Schedule snapshots of a custom storage volume</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#restore-a-snapshot-of-a-custom-storage-volume">Restore a snapshot of a custom storage volume</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#use-export-files-for-volume-backup">Use export files for volume backup</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#export-a-custom-storage-volume">Export a custom storage volume</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#restore-a-custom-storage-volume-from-an-export-file">Restore a custom storage volume from an export file</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

      </div>
    </div>
   
    
  </div>

    </aside>
  </div>
</div><script src="../../_static/jquery.js?v=5d32c60e"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/_sphinx_javascript_frameworks_compat.js?v=2cd50e6c"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/documentation_options.js?v=a5603611"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/doctools.js?v=9a2dae69"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/sphinx_highlight.js?v=dc90522c"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/scripts/furo.js?v=46bd48cc"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/clipboard.min.js?v=a7894cd8"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/copybutton.js?v=b01cb6f2"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/config-options.js"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/design-tabs.js?v=f930bc37"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/tabs.js?v=3030b3cb"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/js/bundle.js?v=a4d88309"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/header-nav.js?v=e117ad08"></script>
    <script src="../../_static/github_issue_links.js?v=32bb732f"></script>
    
<script>
  const github_url = "https://github.com/canonical/lxd";
</script>
</body>
</html>