// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * storage/container_storage_interface/persistent-storage-csi-snapshots.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT
[id="persistent-storage-csi-snapshots-overview_{context}"]
= Overview of CSI volume snapshots

[role="_abstract"]
A snapshot represents the state of the storage volume in a cluster at a particular point in time. Volume snapshots can be used to provision a new volume.

{product-title} supports Container Storage Interface (CSI) volume snapshots by default. However, a specific CSI driver is required.

Familiarity with persistent volumes is suggested. For information about persistent volumes, see "Persistent volumes".

With CSI volume snapshots, a cluster administrator can:

* Deploy a third-party CSI driver that supports snapshots.
* Create a new persistent volume claim (PVC) from an existing volume snapshot.
* Take a snapshot of an existing PVC.
* Restore a snapshot as a different PVC.
* Delete an existing volume snapshot.

With CSI volume snapshots, an app developer can:

* Use volume snapshots as building blocks for developing application- or cluster-level storage backup solutions.
* Rapidly rollback to a previous development version.
* Use storage more efficiently by not having to make a full copy each time.

Be aware of the following when using volume snapshots:

* Support is only available for CSI drivers. In-tree and FlexVolumes are not supported.
* {product-title} only includes select CSI drivers. For CSI drivers that are not provided by an {product-title} Driver Operator, it is recommended to use the CSI drivers provided by the Kubernetes community or known storage vendors. Follow the installation instructions furnished by the CSI driver provider. For information about Kubernetes CSI drivers, see "Kubernetes CSI Developer Documentation".
* CSI drivers may or may not have implemented the volume snapshot functionality. CSI drivers that have provided support for volume snapshots will likely use the `csi-external-snapshotter` sidecar. See documentation provided by the CSI driver for details.
