Snapshots and backups

Snapshots and managed backups copy your VM’s system disk, including the operating system, apps and data stored on that disk. They are stored separately from the live VM in the EU. Neither includes attached block-storage volumes or external services.

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Create a snapshot

1. Open the instance’s Snapshots tab and click Create Snapshot.
2. Choose Cold Snapshot or Hot Snapshot and confirm.
3. Wait for the snapshot to move from uploading to ready. An error snapshot is not a usable recovery point.

Cold is the default. For a running VM, Suji stops it while capturing its disk and then restarts it, causing downtime. A VM that was already stopped stays stopped. Hot captures the live disk without stopping the VM and can include incomplete writes. For databases, use application-aware backups and test recovery. Stopping a VM avoids writes during the disk copy, but does not make every application or external dependency automatically consistent. Snapshot duration varies with the disk and infrastructure; wait for completion before treating the copy as available.

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Enable managed backups

Open the instance’s Backups tab and click Enable backups. Daily backups run automatically and use seven rotating slots separate from the snapshot quota. The first backup is created during a scheduled backup window, not immediately when you enable the feature. Check the list for a completed copy. Backups can run while the VM is active, so applications may need recovery after restoration. Use database-native exports or another application-aware backup method where consistency matters. Enabling backups adds 20% of the VM usage charge, shown as a separate usage line. The surcharge follows the VM size. Disabling backups deletes the existing automatic copies; deleting the VM also deletes them. Create a snapshot or export data you need to keep before either action.

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Restore the system disk

Choose Restore beside an available snapshot or managed backup, read the destructive-action confirmation and confirm only after checking the selected recovery point. Restoration stops the VM and replaces its system disk contents with the chosen copy. Changes made after that recovery point are lost. Attached volumes and external databases are not rolled back with it, so plan how their data will remain compatible. Allow for downtime, then verify application startup, configuration, credentials, domains and integrations before returning the VM to service. A restored disk is not a rollback of every setting held outside the VM. Snapshots cannot restore onto a disk smaller than their required disk size. For a smaller-disk migration, copy application data into a suitable new VM instead.

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Snapshot retention and quota

The current snapshot limit is 10 per organization, shared across its projects and instances. When the quota is full, delete an unwanted snapshot before creating another. The automatic backup slots are separate. Automatic recovery snapshots can fail. Maintain your own backups and do not rely on reaching zero balance as a backup method. See billing and credits for what happens to running resources and retained storage. When deleting a VM yourself, review the snapshot retention choice in the confirmation dialog. A retained snapshot continues to incur storage charges.

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Snapshot storage charges

Snapshot storage costs €0.02 per GiB-month and is billed daily. Each daily charge uses the size of stored, ready snapshots at 1/30 of the monthly rate. A GiB is 1024³ bytes; some dashboard labels use GB. See the pricing page for the current rate.

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Protect data outside the system disk

Back up block-storage volumes, external databases and other remote services separately. Keep any credentials and configuration needed for recovery in a suitable secure location, and test a restore before depending on it for an incident.

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