Configuration Workflow for Scheduled Snapshots and Backup to S3

To configure scheduled snapshots and to configure scheduled S3 backup:

If you want to enable backup to S3, create an S3 replication peer.

An S3 replication peer defines a remote AWS S3 bucket or custom S3 bucket to which data can be replicated.
Create a protection policy.

A protection policy specifies a starting time and a frequency for taking snapshots and performing backup to S3. In a protection policy, an S3 replication peer can optionally be specified. If it is not specified, the protection policy defines a schedule for snapshots only.
Create a protected path. The protected path defines a path to replicate and performs the actual replication according to a specified protection policy.

If you want to take a single snapshot, independent of any configured schedule, see Taking a Snapshot (VAST Web UI).