Which statement best describes SnapVault in NetApp data protection?

• A. SnapVault is a backup target that stores snapshots for long-term retention.
• B. SnapVault is typically used for near-term DR replication.
• C. SnapMirror stores snapshots for long-term retention.
• D. SnapMirror is a backup target for long-term retention.

Answer: (A)

SnapVault serves as a backup target where NetApp snapshots from the source are stored for long-term retention. It is designed to archive data by keeping snapshot copies on a secondary system or storage pool, separate from production, so older versions can be recovered later. The process typically starts with taking snapshots on the source volumes and then transferring those snapshots to the SnapVault destination, often incrementally after an initial seed, which makes storage efficient and bandwidth-friendly. This separation of archival copies from the active data path is what makes SnapVault ideal for long-term retention. SnapMirror, by contrast, is used for near-term replication for disaster recovery, focusing on keeping a current copy in sync rather than preserving long-term archival snapshots.