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If a specific dataset must be restored to a specific point-in-time, SyncIQ supports importing a manually taken snapshot with SnapshotIQ for use by a policy. Importing and selecting the snapshot of a policy ensures that administrators control the target cluster’s dataset by selecting the same snapshot for multiple policies.
To start a SyncIQ policy with a specified snapshot, use the following command:
isi sync jobs start <policy-name> [--source-snapshot <snapshot>]
The command replicates data according to the specified SnapshotIQ snapshot, as only selecting a snapshot from SnapshotIQ is supported. Snapshots taken from a SyncIQ policy are not supported. When importing a snapshot for policy, a SyncIQ snapshot is not generated for this replication job.
Note: The root directory of the specified snapshot must contain the source directory of the replication policy. This option is valid only if the last replication job completed successfully or if a full or differential replication is performed. If the last replication job completed successfully, the specified snapshot must be more recent than the snapshot referenced by the last replication job.
When snapshots are replicated to the target cluster, by default, only the most recent snapshot is retained, and the naming convention on the target cluster is system generated. However, in order to prevent only a single snapshot being overwritten on the target cluster and the default naming convention, select the Enable capture of snapshots on the target cluster as stated in Target snapshots. When this checkbox is selected, specify a naming pattern and select the Snapshots do not expire option. Alternatively, specify a date for snapshot expiration. Limiting snapshots from expiring ensures that they are retained on the target cluster rather than overwritten when a newer snapshot is available. The target cluster snapshot options map to --target-snapshot-archive, --target-snapshot-alias, --target-snapshot-expiration, and --target-snapshot-pattern in the CLI.