related to an earlier post today about backup, S3 snapshots of the virtual disks provides easy backup (just make sure you have it setup right - eg, it isn't a b

related to an earlier post today about backup, S3 snapshots of the virtual disks provides easy backup (just make sure you have it setup right - eg, it isn't a backup solution unless you test restoration). Snapshots are also useful for testing new ideas, out of band processing (spin up an instance that processed data from a snapshot instead of hitting the main DB). Amazon consistently improves their offerings - so if it doesn't fit right now it might next month.