Secure Snapshots can be created:

• Using PowerFlex Manager
• 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 PowerFlex Manager. We go to the Block > Volumes menu, select the volume, and click the More Actions menu.

Figure 16.    Volume selection in PowerFlex Manager

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 PowerFlex Manager to 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

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

scli --snapshot_volume --volume_name workload-volume-0 \

--snapshot_name workload-volume-0-snap-1 --retention_period 15m

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

Figure 19.    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).