What Kubernetes resource allows visibility of the Parent Volume and the snapshot ID?

The VolumeSnapshot is a namespaced Kubernetes API resource that users create to initiate a snapshot of a PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC). The VolumeSnapshot object's specification (spec) contains a source field that explicitly references the parent volume by its persistentVolumeClaimName. Once the underlying storage provider, such as Portworx, successfully creates the snapshot, the status field of the VolumeSnapshot object is updated. This status includes a reference (boundVolumeSnapshotContentName) to the VolumeSnapshotContent object, which holds the unique snapshot identifier (snapshotHandle) from the storage system. Therefore, the VolumeSnapshot resource provides direct visibility to the parent volume (PVC) and an indirect link to the snapshot ID.

B. PersistentVolumeClaim: A PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) is a request for storage. While it is the source for a snapshot, the PVC object itself does not contain any information or references to snapshots that have been created from it.

C. VolumeSnapshotData: VolumeSnapshotData is a deprecated API object from the pre-CSI snapshot implementation. The modern equivalent is VolumeSnapshotContent, which contains the snapshot ID but references the source PersistentVolume, not the user-facing PersistentVolumeClaim.

1. Kubernetes Official Documentation

"Volume Snapshots": The documentation details the VolumeSnapshot object. The sample YAML manifest for a VolumeSnapshot clearly shows the spec.source.persistentVolumeClaimName field

which identifies the parent volume. The description of the object's lifecycle explains how its status field links to the VolumeSnapshotContent object.

Source: Kubernetes Documentation > Concepts > Storage > Volume Snapshots.

Section: "VolumeSnapshot" and "VolumeSnapshotContent".

2. Portworx Official Documentation

"CSI Snapshots": This document provides a step-by-step guide for creating CSI-based snapshots with Portworx. The examples explicitly show the creation of a VolumeSnapshot resource that references a source PVC. This confirms that the VolumeSnapshot object is the user-facing resource for managing the relationship between a parent volume and its snapshot.

Source: Portworx Enterprise Documentation > Portworx on Kubernetes > Storage operations > Snapshots > Create and use snapshots with Kubernetes > CSI Snapshots.

Section: "Create a CSI snapshot".