Snapshot feature enables you to schedule regular, full-system snapshot backups, of all the disks on your server to an off-site location. The full system snapshot backup of a server at Cloudways can be set up by using the process mentioned below.
Before proceeding, please note that the Snapshot backups option is currently available only for AWS and GCE servers.
As compared to normal backups, snapshots will drastically reduce the recovery time for large data sets (files and DB of more than 10GB). Note that normal backups will continue to work in parallel (allowing single application recovery and you can set different frequencies for each backup type).
How to Take a Snapshot of a Server
Step 1: Go to Server Management
Log into the Cloudways Platform with your credentials. Click on Servers in the top menu bar. Then, click on your target server from the list. This will take you to the Server Management area.
Step 2: Setting up Snapshot Backups Frequency
Under the Server Management section, click on the Backups section and then:
Click on the Snapshots section.
Here you can set the snapshot frequency from 1 to 7 days. A frequency of a day means that a single full-system snapshot of all the disks on your server will be taken each day. Whereas, a frequency of 7 days means that one full-system snapshot will be taken every seven days (one full-system snapshot weekly backup).
Now, note down the estimated monthly price of the snapshot. The price will vary depending on the current size of the disks.
Click on the Save Changes button to apply the settings.
Step 3: Track Saving Snapshot Frequency Progress
The snapshot frequency saving process will take a few seconds. Once done, you will get a message stating that your requested snapshot frequency has been saved.
Important Notes
Each full-system snapshot has a retention policy of 14 days.
Only GCE and AWS servers support the snapshot backup feature at Cloudways.
The estimated monthly price for using the snapshot feature shall be applied to your monthly invoice.
Snapshot backup option is recommended for critical servers and only full server restore is available.
To restore your full server from a snapshot backup, contact our live chat support or create a support ticket.
That’s it! We hope this article was helpful. If you need any help, then feel free to search your query on Cloudways Support Center or contact us via chat (Need a Hand > Send us a Message). Alternatively, you can also create a support ticket.