A Snapshot copy is a read-only image of the entire Data ONTAP file system. It reflects the state of the file system at the time the Snapshot copy is created.
Snapshot copy files carry the same permissions as the original file. A user who has permission to read a file in the active file system can still read that file in the Snapshot copy. A user without read permission to the same file cannot read that file in a Snapshot copy. Write permission does not apply because Snapshot copies are read-only. Snapshot copies can be accessed by any user with the appropriate permissions.
Every directory in the storage system's active file system contains a directory named .snapshot through which users can access old versions of files in that directory.
FilerView enables you to configure and manage all Snapshot copies in all volumes on the storage system.