Improve argument for snapshot triggering chunk generation (#7664)

cjen1-msft · eddyashton · Copilot · web-flow · commit 767448004e4f · 2026-02-12T16:05:34.000Z
Co-authored-by: Eddy Ashton &lt;ashton.eddy@gmail.com&gt;
Co-authored-by: Copilot &lt;175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com&gt;
diff --git a/doc/operations/ledger_snapshot.rst b/doc/operations/ledger_snapshot.rst
@@ -168,4 +168,4 @@ Invariants
 
 3. Snapshots are always generated for the ``seqno`` of a signature transaction (but not all signature transactions trigger the generation of snapshot).
 
-4. The generation of a snapshot triggers the creation of a new ledger file. This is a corollary of 2. and 3., since new nodes should be able to join from a snapshot only and generate further ledger files that are the same as on the other nodes.
+4. When a snapshot is generated, it must coincide with the end of a ledger file. Since a node can join using solely a snapshot, the first ledger file on that node will start just after the ``seqno`` of the snapshot. By 2., all nodes must have the same ledger files, so the generation of that snapshot on the primary must trigger the creation of a new ledger file starting at the next ``seqno`` to ensure the primary's ledger files are consistent with the joining node's files.

Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
`@@ -168,4 +168,4 @@ Invariants`
`168`	`168`
`169`	`169`	3. Snapshots are always generated for the ``seqno`` of a signature transaction (but not all signature transactions trigger the generation of snapshot).
`170`	`170`
`171`		`-4. The generation of a snapshot triggers the creation of a new ledger file. This is a corollary of 2. and 3., since new nodes should be able to join from a snapshot only and generate further ledger files that are the same as on the other nodes.`
	`171`	+4. When a snapshot is generated, it must coincide with the end of a ledger file. Since a node can join using solely a snapshot, the first ledger file on that node will start just after the ``seqno`` of the snapshot. By 2., all nodes must have the same ledger files, so the generation of that snapshot on the primary must trigger the creation of a new ledger file starting at the next ``seqno`` to ensure the primary's ledger files are consistent with the joining node's files.