<h2>Backup</h2>
<p>
Backups are standalone copies of your data that aren't connected to the VM and, therefore, offer a full VM copy so a single point of disk failure doesn't equal catastrophic data loss. Unlike snapshots, VM backups can be moved to the cloud, a separate location, or offsite for safe storage. Beyond using backups as part of a sound business continuity plan, backups can provide granular features that snapshots cannot. Image-level backups offer a variety of recovery options including the ability to recover a entire VM or individual files or applications. Changed block tracking allows you to only back up data that has changed since the last backup so you can save storage space.
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<h2>Snapshot</h2>
<p>
Snapshots can be used in production environments but should be done with purpose. Snapshots should be used if you are performing an update that could harm your system. But snapshots are not a full copy of a virtual hard disk. If the virtual disk is deleted or storage or infrastructure fails, snapshots cannot restore a VM. Snapshots can also affect the performance of your VM if snapshots are kept running for a long period of time. It is recommended that only using 2 to 3 snapshots in a chain and never running a snapshot for more than 72 hours to keep performance high.
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