Secure Snapshots can be created:

• Using the Web UI
• Using the PowerFlex command-line interface
• With the REST API
• With a predefined snapshot policy
• By issuing a CLI or REST command to secure a previously created snapshot

The easiest approach is with the Web UI. We go to the Configuration > Volumes menu, select the volume, and click the MORE menu.

Figure 16.    Volume selection in PowerFlex UI

The create snapshot window opens, which allows us to name the snapshot and to set its properties (read-only; secure):

Figure 17.    Create secure snapshot

For this example, we will set the expiration time to 15 minutes. But the interval can be set in the UI for minutes, hours, days, or weeks.

After creating the snapshot of our source volume, it appears and is marked both secure and read-only.

Figure 18.    Secure snapshot properties

If we try to delete it or overwrite the contents, we receive the following error:

Figure 19.    Failure dialog

From the CLI, we would do something like the following to create a secure snapshot:

scli --snapshot_volume --volume_name source-fg-vol-1 \

--snapshot_name source-fg-vol-1-snap-1 --retention_period 15m

You are prompted to confirm the decision to create a secure snapshot:

Figure 20.    Example creating a secure snapshot using scli

Alternatively, users can preemptively approve the creation by adding the --i_am_sure flag to the command.

Specifying a retention period denotes the snapshot as secure and includes the read-only attribute. The time period is specified using m | h | D | W | M | Y respectively indicating minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. Examples: 30m (thirty minutes), 5D (five days), 1M (one month, which equals 31 days).