Data protection

Use snapshots and replication for different jobs

Use snapshots for short-term rollback and replication for an additional copy, then verify retention, credentials, and restore steps.

Decision 01

Snapshots stay close to the source

Snapshots can help recover earlier versions, but their failure boundary may overlap with the primary storage system.

Decision 02

Replication adds a destination decision

A replicated copy needs its own capacity, retention, connectivity, and recovery access plan.

Decision 03

Restore remains the proof

A protection feature only adds value when you can retrieve the needed files or service data within the required time.

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Related decisions

Build a plan

Recovery

Use RAID for availability, not as the only backup

Recovery proof

Test a NAS restore before an incident

Sources and scope

Last reviewed 2026-07-13. This page separates the decision it supports from the facts that still require a platform or model-specific check.

Applies to

Separating rollback, replication, and independent recovery concepts.

Does not cover

A complete data-protection configuration for a specific NAS product.

TrueNAS replication tasksPlatform documentation for snapshot replication and backup workflows.Open source ↗CISA ransomware guideIndependent backups and recovery-testing guidance.Open source ↗