Difference Between Timefinder VP and Time Finder SNAP

I am assuming you want to know the diff between tf/snap and tf vp snap.
1. tf snap works with symsnap command and tf vp works with symclone -vse option

2) in snap, protected tracks from source are copied to snap pool but in virtual snap, the protected tracks are copied to pools. You source and target both could reside in the same thin pool or in different.

3) VP Snap leverages TimeFinder/Clone technology to create space-efficient snaps for thin devices by allowing multiple sessions to share capacity allocations within a thin pool.

4) In diag below, i have got one thin source bound to a pool and three clone (vp snap) devices bound to another pool but the data of three targets are being shared. I can also have source and target bound to the same thin pool to save space.

Basically you've got symsnap and symclone...  Symsnap makes a copy of the data  you're snapping for access.  This way access to the snap does not impact the source volume buy takes additional storage. Whereas symclone simply references an existing copy of the data and IO sent to the clone is redirect (on the backend) to the data stored by the source.  This means you dont need as much space,  but IO operations on the copy can impact the source..

If you want to learn about VP Snaps review the white paper below:

https://support.emc.com/docu40346_White_Paper:_Implementing_EMC_TimeFinder_VP_Snap_for_Local_Replication.pdf?language=en_US

The main differences?

TimeFinder VP Snap is part of TimeFinder clone and TDEVs as the snap targets, and are bound to Thin Pools.

TimeFinder Snap uses VDEVs as the snap targets and requires that you create a Snap pool using SAV devs (similar to TDATs).

so when i have use TF SNAP and TF VP SNAP ?

what is the benefit on these two ?

ok sure. but even i have the book but a bit confused state . hence atleast i get help from EMC community.

If you are new to Timefinder and looking to understand the basic concepts and overview, the EMC Symmetrix Timefinder for VMAX documents are an excellent starting point. Search "Symmetrix timefinder product guide for VMAX" in support.emc.com. There is one book for the VMAX 10K and another for the 20K/40K.

There are suitability use cases for each type of SNAP that will help you determine what is best for you.

I understand, when you are new to the technology, it can be a little daunting...

Do you have a use case for point-in-time copy but not sure which type of Timefinder to use?

Or perhaps can you be a little more specific with some questions we can answer?

The other alternative is to reach out to your local account team, that may be able to assist with an overview or get you onto a training course.

there was a great session at EMC World about that topic, when it gets released maybe some EMC folks can share a couple of slides, it was John Lynch's session.

can you share the link?

i could not find it. please share it.

it has not been released yet

nope

unrelated but someone posted notes from SE Conf... can't recall who,  was password protected,  so was going to email him.. happen to have seen that?

Hi Saurabh,

Why you think have the source/ target will be at risk? I am not able to come up with a scenario where it willl impact.can you advise.