RE: [cinder][nova] Local storage in compute node

it wil snapshot the root disk if you use addtional ephmeeral disks i do not think they are included but if you create the vms wit a singel root disk that is big enaough for your needs and use swift as your glance backend then yes. it will store the backups in object storage and rotate up to N backups per instance.

Thanks Sean! I tested a VM with a single root disk (no ephemeral disks) and it worked as expected (how you described).