Google Compute Engine Disk Snapshots vs Reusable Image
I have a virtual machine instance in GCE that I have configured. It has all the libraries and source codes I need for my project. Now, to scale up the problem, I would like to make more virtual machine instances on the same code to improve performance.
As far as I understand, there are two ways to do this. One of them is Create an image from a persistent disk to reuse the disk state. Another way is to use Snapshots .
There seems to be no documentation to explain the differences and usages in different situations. I wonder which one should I use for my purpose. Thanks in advance.
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Persistent disc images can be exported and used outside of the project. You can download it to your computer if you like, so it's easier to make backups if someone accidentally deletes the image.
Snapshots are better for things like backing up your virtual machine. They are differentiated, so if you take a new shot every week, you only pay for the difference.
Snapshots are cheaper in terms of storage cost, but there is a network fee if you use them in different areas. I don't think images have this network gathering.
In this case, I feel that Persistent Disk Image might be the best choice. They both should work, and I don't think the use is "wrong".
Here are some more links explaining the difference:
Google Compute Engine: What's the Difference Between Disk Snapshot and Disk Image?
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Sandeep's answer mentions most of the points, including Snapshots
cheaper ones. However, as far as I have seen, the cost is not that great when you decide between the two as they both cost very much less per GB.
The main factor that the documentation highlights when choosing between the two is the fact that you can use a disk image to instantiate in any zone at no cost. In fact, I used this feature to move a GCE instance from one zone to another.
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