Taking LXD Container Snapshots

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Taking LXD Container Snapshots

One benefit Linux containers provide is the ability to quick spin up a number of containers. But from what are these containers based? LXD snapshots allow us to take point-in-time images of our containers and any work performed on these containers. In this lab, we take a preconfigured nginx-based web container and clone it to create the basis of a small web cluster.

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Lab Info

Level

Beginner

Last updated

Apr 06, 2025

Duration

15m

Challenge

Create a Snapshot
Take a snapshot of the web01 container:
```
lxc snapshot web01 1.0
```
Challenge

Launch and Review the New Container
Launch the new container:
```
lxc copy web01/1.0 web02
lxc start web02
```
View the IPv4 address of the container and attempt to access a website:
```
lxc list
curl \<ipv4\>
```
Challenge

Create a Second Snapshot
Update the web01 container so nginx starts at boot:
```
lxc exec web01 -- rc-update add nginx default
```
Take a new snapshot:
```
lxc snapshot web01 1.1
```
Challenge

Relaunch and Review the `web02` Container
Remove the web02 container and relaunch it with the new snapshot:
```
lxc stop web02
lxc delete web02
lxc copy web01/1.1 web02
lxc start web02
```
Ensure nginx is working by running curl on the container's IP:
```
lxc list
curl \<ipv4\>
```
Challenge

Remove the Erroneous Snapshot
Remove the 1.0 snapshot:
```
lxc delete web01/1.0
```

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