diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb
index 3e7b13b6ed5..7b1328bcb7c 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb
@@ -657,5 +657,40 @@ module Hbase
         end
     end
     
+    #----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Take a snapshot of specified table
+    def snapshot(table, snapshot_name)
+      @admin.snapshot(snapshot_name.to_java_bytes, table.to_java_bytes)
+    end
+
+    #----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Restore specified snapshot
+    def restore_snapshot(snapshot_name)
+      @admin.restoreSnapshot(snapshot_name.to_java_bytes)
+    end
+
+    #----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Create a new table by cloning the snapshot content
+    def clone_snapshot(snapshot_name, table)
+      @admin.cloneSnapshot(snapshot_name.to_java_bytes, table.to_java_bytes)
+    end
+
+    #----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Rename specified snapshot
+    def rename_snapshot(old_snapshot_name, new_snapshot_name)
+      @admin.renameSnapshot(old_snapshot_name.to_java_bytes, new_snapshot_name.to_java_bytes)
+    end
+
+    #----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Delete specified snapshot
+    def delete_snapshot(snapshot_name)
+      @admin.deleteSnapshot(snapshot_name.to_java_bytes)
+    end
+
+    #----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Returns a list of snapshots
+    def list_snapshot
+      @admin.listSnapshots
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/table.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/table.rb
index 64c0e102b64..60f0f938680 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/table.rb
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/hbase/table.rb
@@ -408,14 +408,14 @@ EOF
     # Generally used for admin functions which just have one name and take the table name
     def self.add_admin_utils(*args)
       args.each do |method|
-        define_method method do
-          @shell.command(method, @name)
+        define_method method do |*method_args|
+          @shell.command(method, @name, *method_args)
         end
       end
     end
 
     #Add the following admin utilities to the table
-    add_admin_utils :enable, :disable, :flush, :drop, :describe
+    add_admin_utils :enable, :disable, :flush, :drop, :describe, :snapshot
 
     #----------------------------
     #give the general help for the table
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell.rb
index 0a1d7c8072f..3e83ddf58e7 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell.rb
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell.rb
@@ -307,6 +307,19 @@ Shell.load_command_group(
   ]
 )
 
+Shell.load_command_group(
+  'snapshot',
+  :full_name => 'CLUSTER SNAPSHOT TOOLS',
+  :commands => %w[
+    snapshot
+    clone_snapshot
+    restore_snapshot
+    rename_snapshot
+    delete_snapshot
+    list_snapshots
+  ]
+)
+
 Shell.load_command_group(
   'security',
   :full_name => 'SECURITY TOOLS',
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/clone_snapshot.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/clone_snapshot.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e54be5fd396
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/clone_snapshot.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+module Shell
+  module Commands
+    class CloneSnapshot < Command
+      def help
+        return <<-EOF
+Create a new table by cloning the snapshot content. Examples:
+There're no copies of data involved.
+And writing on the newly created table will not influence the snapshot data.
+
+  hbase> clone_snapshot 'snapshotName', 'tableName'
+EOF
+      end
+
+      def command(snapshot_name, table)
+        format_simple_command do
+          admin.clone_snapshot(snapshot_name, table)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/delete_snapshot.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/delete_snapshot.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b8c3791a540
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/delete_snapshot.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+module Shell
+  module Commands
+    class DeleteSnapshot < Command
+      def help
+        return <<-EOF
+Delete a specified snapshot. Examples:
+
+  hbase> delete_snapshot 'snapshotName',
+EOF
+      end
+
+      def command(snapshot_name)
+        format_simple_command do
+          admin.delete_snapshot(snapshot_name)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/list_snapshots.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/list_snapshots.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6e4e88a6eef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/list_snapshots.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+require 'time'
+
+module Shell
+  module Commands
+    class ListSnapshots < Command
+      def help
+        return <<-EOF
+List all snapshots taken (by printing the names and relative information).
+Optional regular expression parameter could be used to filter the output
+by snapshot name.
+
+Examples:
+  hbase> list_snapshots
+  hbase> list_snapshots 'abc.*'
+EOF
+      end
+
+      def command(regex = ".*")
+        now = Time.now
+        formatter.header([ "SNAPSHOT", "TABLE + CREATION TIME"])
+
+        regex = /#{regex}/ unless regex.is_a?(Regexp)
+        list = admin.list_snapshot.select {|s| regex.match(s.getName)}
+        list.each do |snapshot|
+          creation_time = Time.at(snapshot.getCreationTime() / 1000).to_s
+          formatter.row([ snapshot.getName, snapshot.getTable + " (" + creation_time + ")" ])
+        end
+
+        formatter.footer(now, list.size)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/rename_snapshot.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/rename_snapshot.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ac9e23cbeab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/rename_snapshot.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+module Shell
+  module Commands
+    class RenameSnapshot < Command
+      def help
+        return <<-EOF
+Rename a specified snapshot. Examples:
+
+  hbase> rename_snapshot 'oldSnapshotName' 'newSnapshotName'
+EOF
+      end
+
+      def command(old_snapshot_name, new_snapshot_name)
+        format_simple_command do
+          admin.rename_snapshot(old_snapshot_name, new_snapshot_name)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/restore_snapshot.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/restore_snapshot.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4d531711bca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/restore_snapshot.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+module Shell
+  module Commands
+    class RestoreSnapshot < Command
+      def help
+        return <<-EOF
+Restore a specified snapshot.
+The restore will replace the content of the original table,
+bringing back the content to the snapshot state.
+The table must be disabled.
+
+Examples:
+  hbase> restore_snapshot 'snapshotName'
+EOF
+      end
+
+      def command(snapshot_name)
+        format_simple_command do
+          admin.restore_snapshot(snapshot_name)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/snapshot.rb b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/snapshot.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1c4ecfec0e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/ruby/shell/commands/snapshot.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+module Shell
+  module Commands
+    class Snapshot < Command
+      def help
+        return <<-EOF
+Take a snapshot of specified table. Examples:
+
+  hbase> snapshot 'sourceTable', 'snapshotName'
+EOF
+      end
+
+      def command(table, snapshot_name)
+        format_simple_command do
+          admin.snapshot(table, snapshot_name)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end