Back up and restore servers and volumes

Backups keep copies of your data so you can get it back after a mistake or a failure. Start from a server’s Backups tab to make copies. Use the Backups list to find every copy on your account and restore it.

Back up a server from its Backups tab

The Backups tab of a server keeps copies of its disks. There are two kinds of copy:

• A backup is a separate copy of one volume, kept apart from the server. A full backup copies the whole volume. An incremental backup stores only what changed since the last backup of that volume. You restore a backup to a new volume.
• A snapshot is a quick copy of the whole server on the same storage, for rolling back. A snapshot becomes one of your images, so you can deploy new servers from it.

Set the backup plan

A backup plan backs up every volume of the server on a schedule.

1. Open the server’s page, then the Backups tab, then Backup Plans.
2. Select Set Backup Plan (or Edit Plan when one exists).
3. Under Frequency, choose Every Few Hours, Daily or Weekly.
4. Set the timing: Every and Starting At for every few hours, Time for daily, or Day and Time for weekly. Times are in your time zone.
5. Under Backup Chains to Keep, choose how many full backups to keep. A chain is one full backup and up to 6 incremental ones. The oldest chain is deleted when a new one starts.
6. Select Save Plan. You see Backup Plan Saved.

The Backup Plan card then shows Runs, Next Run, Retention and Last Run. Pause stops new backups for a while, and Resume starts them again. Remove Plan stops new backups. The backups already made are kept.

Take a manual backup

1. On the Backups tab, select Create Manual Backup.
2. Pick the volume, and choose full or incremental. Incremental needs a full backup of that volume first.
3. Optional: type a Name and a Note (Optional).
4. Confirm. You see Backup Requested.

A backup taken while the server runs is marked Taken While Running: for a clean copy, stop the server first.

Take a snapshot

1. Under Server Snapshots, select Take Snapshot.
2. Type a name and confirm. You see Snapshot Requested.

The snapshot appears here and in Images.

Restore a backup

1. On a backup’s row, select Restore to a New Volume.
2. Type the New Volume Name and select Restore.
3. When the new volume is ready, attach it from the Storage tab. See Manage a server’s storage.

The original volume is not changed.

Delete a backup or snapshot

Select Delete Backup or Delete Snapshot on its row and confirm. This can’t be undone. A full backup that newer incremental backups depend on can’t be deleted until those are deleted.

If something goes wrong

• This project already has its maximum number of backups. Delete one first. Only manual backups count toward this limit.
• This server already has its maximum number of snapshots. Delete one first.
• Needs Attention on a plan means it is missing on the platform. Save the plan again to recreate it.
• If the plan says volumes were attached after it was saved, save the plan again to include them.
• Backup plans are available once Lighthouse manages this server. Adopt it to set one. See Manage a cloud server.

For every backup on the account, read the next section.

Find and restore every backup

The Backups list shows every backup of your volumes, including backups of servers that were deleted. A backup is a separate copy of a volume. Use it to get data back, or to start a new server from it. To make backups, use a server’s Backups tab, described above, or a backup plan.

Open Backups

1. Open Infrastructure in the side menu.
2. Select Backups, under Storage & Backups.

Read the list

Each row shows Name, Status, Server, Date, Size, Volume and Kind.

• Name is the backup’s short name, for example web-01 · Boot Disk · Nov 4, 12:00 AM (Incremental), in your time zone. Its Backup ID sits under it, with a copy button. Select the name to open the backup’s page, where you can rename it. See Manage a backup.

• Kind is Full (a whole copy) or Incremental (only what changed since the last backup of that volume).

• Server names the server. Deleted Server means it was made from a server that has since been deleted.

• Status is Available when the backup is ready. Creating, Restoring or Deleting mean a change is running.

Use Search name, volume ID or server ID to narrow the list.

Restore a backup

1. Open the row menu and select Restore to a New Volume.
2. Type the New Volume Name.
3. Select Restore. You see Restore Requested.

The backup is restored into a new, unattached volume of the same size. The original volume is not changed. When it is ready, attach it to a server. See Create a volume.

Turn a backup into an image

1. Open the row menu and select Convert to Image.
2. Type the Image Name (1 to 64 characters).
3. Confirm. You see Conversion to Image Requested.

It takes about a minute, plus about 10 seconds per GB. While it runs, it needs about twice the backup’s size in free storage. The image appears in Images, and it can deploy a server once we confirm a server boots from it.

Delete a backup

1. Open the row menu and select Delete Backup.
2. Confirm. This can’t be undone.

The backup’s details page

Select a backup to open its Backup Details page. It shows what the backup is a copy of, its size and stored size, the backups it depends on, and its restore, convert and delete actions. See Manage a backup.

If something goes wrong

• Newer incremental backups depend on this one. Delete those first.
• A restore of this backup is still in progress. You can restore it again once it finishes.
• Not every action is available for a backup in its current status. Wait until it shows Available.
• If converting would go over your storage limit, delete volumes or backups you no longer need, or open a support ticket.