Set default storage locations for globally scoped snapshots Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

When you create snapshots, they are created as globally scoped snapshots by default. For a given project, you can customize the default location where Google Cloud stores the globally scoped snapshots by configuring your snapshot settings. Using snapshot settings to define your own custom default removes the need for you to manually specify a location every time you create a snapshot.

This document provides information about snapshot settings and how to use them to customize the default storage location for your project's globally scoped snapshots.

To manage location settings for regionally scoped snapshots, see Set snapshot creation and restore locations for regionally scoped snapshots (Preview).

Before you begin

• If you haven't already, set up authentication. Authentication verifies your identity for access to Google Cloud services and APIs. To run code or samples from a local development environment, you can authenticate to Compute Engine by selecting one of the following options:

  Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page:

  gcloud

  1. Install the Google Cloud CLI. After installation, initialize the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command:

     gcloud init

     If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

     Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by running gcloud components update.
  2. Set a default region and zone.

  REST

  To use the REST API samples on this page in a local development environment, you use the credentials you provide to the gcloud CLI.

  Install the Google Cloud CLI.

  If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

  For more information, see Authenticate for using REST in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.

Limitations

• You can view and update the snapshot settings only by using the gcloud CLI or REST.
• You can't customize the default storage location of instant snapshots. You can only do so for standard and archive snapshots.
• Modifying the location policy in your project's snapshot settings only affects the snapshots that are created after that modification. Updating your project's snapshot settings does not change the location of any existing snapshots.
• If you manually specify a location during snapshot creation, then Google Cloud overrides the snapshot settings and creates your snapshot in that newly specified location. However, the storage location policy in your snapshot settings remains unchanged.
• Default storage locations apply only to globally scoped snapshots. To control storage locations for regionally scoped snapshots, you must Set allowed snapshot creation locations.
• Setting a default storage location controls only where the snapshot is stored. With globally scoped snapshots, you can't set where snapshot data can be restored. To set allowed locations for snapshot restoration, you need to create a regional snapshot and set allowed restore locations.

How snapshot settings work

The storage location policy of a project's snapshot settings defines where Google Cloud automatically stores that project's snapshots. Google Cloud maintains a predefined value for this storage location policy until you update the snapshot settings and configure a new default. After you update the snapshot settings and set a new default storage location, Google Cloud uses this location to store every new snapshot created in that project.

You can update your snapshot settings to modify the storage location policy any number of times. However, modifying your project's snapshot settings only affects the locations of snapshots that are created after that modification. Updating your project's snapshot settings does not change the location of any existing snapshots.

To ensure that Google Cloud uses the storage location defined by your snapshot settings, don't manually specify a location during snapshot creation. If you manually specify a location during snapshot creation, then Google Cloud overrides the snapshot settings and creates your snapshot in that newly specified location. However, the storage location policy in your snapshot settings remains unchanged.

You can use snapshot settings to customize the default storage location of your standard and archive snapshots. You can't customize the default storage location of instant snapshots.

Storage location options

When you configure your project's snapshot settings and specify a new default storage location, you can either choose specific regions or use disk-based location settings. More specifically, you can choose one of the following location options for your storage location policy:

• The nearest multi-region to the source disk
• The same local region as the source disk
• Specific regions of your choice

Google Cloud predefined storage location policy

Until you update your snapshot settings for the first time, Google Cloud maintains a predefined value for the storage location policy. This predefined policy provides the default storage location for snapshots until you configure your own default storage location by updating your project's snapshot settings. The predefined storage location policy is set to the multi-region that is geographically closest to the location of your source disk.

• If your source disk is in a location that is part of a multi-region, then your snapshot settings storage location policy is set to that multi-region. For example, if your disk is in a location like us-central1, then the default storage location is the multi-region us.
• For a location that is outside of a multi-region, the default storage location is the geographically closest multi-region outside of that region. For a location like australia-southeast1, the default location becomes the asia multi-region.

Pricing implications

You don't have to pay any extra amount to use snapshot settings for your projects. However, the location values that you specify using snapshot settings affect other operations, which may in turn affect those operational costs.

Set the default storage location for a project using snapshot settings

You can update your project's snapshot settings and set a new default storage location by using REST and the gcloud CLI.

If you don't set a storage location policy in your snapshot settings, then your snapshots are created using the Google Cloud predefined storage location policy.

Permissions required for this task

To perform this task, you must have the following permissions:

• compute.snapshotSettings.update on the project

  gcloud compute snapshot-settings update \
      --project=PROJECT_ID \
      --storage-location-policy=STORAGE_LOCATION \
      --storage-location-names=REGION_NAME

  gcloud compute snapshot-settings update \
      --project=my-project \
      --storage-location-policy=nearest-multi-region

  gcloud compute snapshot-settings update \
      --project=my-project \
      --storage-location-policy=local-region

  gcloud compute snapshot-settings update \
      --project=my-project \
      --storage-location-policy=specific-locations \
      --storage-location-names=us-central1

  PATCH https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/snapshotSettings

  {
    "storageLocation": {
      "policy": "STORAGE_LOCATION",
      "locations": {
            "REGION_NAME": { "name": "REGION_NAME" }
      }
    }
  }

    PATCH https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/snapshotSettings

    {
      "storageLocation": {
        "policy": "NEAREST_MULTI_REGION"
      }
    }

    PATCH https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/snapshotSettings

    {
      "storageLocation": {
        "policy": "LOCAL_REGION"
      }
    }

    PATCH https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/snapshotSettings

    {
      "storageLocation": {
        "policy": "SPECIFIC_LOCATIONS",
        "locations": {
          "us-central1": { "name": "us-central1"}
        }
      }
    }

View the default storage location defined by a project's snapshot settings

You can view your project's snapshot settings by using the Compute Engine API and the gcloud CLI.

Permissions required for this task

To perform this task, you must have the following permissions:

• compute.snapshotSettings.get on the project

  gcloud compute snapshot-settings describe \
      --project=PROJECT_ID

  GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/snapshotSettings

What's next

• Learn how to view, delete, and share disk snapshots.
• Learn how to create scheduled snapshots for disks.
• Learn how to create a disk image from your snapshot.