---
title: "Cloud server backup"
sidebar_label: "Cloud server backup"
sidebar_position: 7
description: "Methods for cloud server backup and solutions for storing copies"
---

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import Formbricks from '@theme/MDXComponents/Formbricks'

# Cloud server backup

Selectel provides infrastructure-level services, so backups for cloud servers are not performed by default.

You can set up automatic backups or create a backup manually. You can view the available tools in the [Backup Methods](#backup-methods) table.

An alternative way to create copies is to use scripts and utilities on the cloud server; see the [Solutions for Storing Copies](#solutions-for-storing-copies) subsection for details.

## Backup methods \{#backup-methods}

<CustomTable>
  <table data-sticky>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th />

        <th>[Backups](/cloud-servers/backups/about-backups.mdx)</th><th>[Backup with agents (Veeam® Agent](/veeam-agent/about/about-veeam-agent.mdx))</th><th>[Images](/cloud-servers/images/about-images.mdx)</th><th>[Snapshots](/cloud-servers/volumes/snapshots.mdx)</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>

    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <th>What backups can be created for</th><td>Cloud server network volumes</td><td>Cloud servers, cloud server network and local volumes, directories, and individual files</td><td>Cloud server network and local volumes</td><td>Cloud server network volumes</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>How backups are performed</th>

        <td>
          <ul>
            <li>automatically — you need to create a plan with a backup schedule;</li><li>manually</li>
          </ul>
        </td>

        <td>Automatically</td><td>Manually</td><td>Manually</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>Backup types</th>

        <td>
          <ul>
            <li>full — when created automatically by schedule or manually;</li><li>incremental — only when created by schedule</li>
          </ul>
        </td>

        <td>Full and incremental</td><td>Full</td><td>Full</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>How to create a backup</th>

        <td>
          You do not need to turn off the server or install software to create a backup.

          <br />

          You can:

          <ul>
            <li>[set up a schedule](/cloud-servers/backups/create-backup.mdx#configure-scheduled-backups) for automatic backup creation in the Control panel. According to the schedule, instant snapshots of the volume will be created and transferred to the backup storage;</li><li>[create a backup manually](/cloud-servers/backups/create-backup.mdx#create-backup) in the Control panel</li>
          </ul>
        </td>

        <td>
          You do not need to turn off the server before creating a backup.

          <br />

          To create copies, you need to [connect backup with agents](/veeam-agent/connect-veeam-agent.mdx): purchase a license, install the agent on the server, and configure backup rules and a schedule. The agent creates copies according to the schedule and transfers them to a cloud repository
        </td>

        <td>
          We recommend turning off the server before creating an image.

          <br />

          [Create an image from a volume](/cloud-servers/images/create-image.mdx#create-image-from-volume) in the Control panel or via OpenStack CLI
        </td>

        <td>
          You do not need to turn off the server or install software to create a snapshot.

          <br />

          [Create a snapshot of a volume](/cloud-servers/volumes/snapshots.mdx#create-snapshot) in the Control panel or via OpenStack CLI
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>How to restore a backup</th><td>When you restore from a backup, a new volume is created — you can connect it to an existing server, or use it to create a new cloud server, network volume, or image. You can only restore a full volume from a backup</td>

        <td>
          You can [restore a copy from a backup](/veeam-agent/restore-from-backup/):

          <ul>
            <li>using backup agents: at the file and folder level or at the partition level;</li><li>using Veeam Recovery Media bootable disk: at the system partition level or for the entire cloud server</li>
          </ul>
        </td>

        <td>The created image is stored in the image storage — you can create a cloud server or network volume from it</td><td>You can create a cloud server, network volume, or image from a snapshot</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>How many backups can be stored simultaneously</th>

        <td>
          <ul>
            <li>if backups are created automatically by schedule, the total number of backups in a project is unlimited. You cannot create more than 90 full backups or 14 chains of incremental backups for one volume within a single plan;</li><li>if backups are created manually, no more than 1 000 backups in one project</li>
          </ul>
        </td>

        <td>The quantity is limited only by the amount of purchased disk space in the repository</td><td>The quantity is limited only by [project quotas](/access-control/projects/quotas.mdx) for images — these can be increased through technical support</td><td>No more than five snapshots for one volume</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>Storage reliability</th><td>Backups are stored with triple replication on Selectel servers, separate from volumes. In [single-zone pools](/infrastructure/locations.mdx#single-az-pool), backups are stored in the same pool segment as the volumes. In a [multi-zone pool](/infrastructure/locations.mdx#multi-az-pool), backups are stored in a data storage cluster common to all pool segments. You cannot change the storage location</td><td>Copies are stored in a cloud repository with triple replication</td><td>They are stored on Selectel servers separate from volumes, but in the same pool segment. You cannot choose the storage location. To increase storage reliability, you can [transfer an image](/cloud-servers/images/transfer-image.mdx) to another pool segment or download it and transfer it to third-party infrastructure outside Selectel</td><td>They are stored on the same hardware as the volumes — therefore, a snapshot is not a full-fledged backup. A snapshot is always deleted together with the volume</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>Can a backup be downloaded</th><td>✗</td><td>✗</td><td>✓</td><td>✗</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>Alerts and monitoring</th><td>Copies that failed to be created are displayed in the interface with the `ERROR` status</td><td>The console includes a set of default error alerts (Alarms) for backup monitoring. In the Active Alarms section, you can configure alerts according to monitoring conditions, and enable or disable alerts</td><td>Images that failed to be created are displayed in the interface with the `ERROR` status</td><td>✗</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>Automatic check for backup consistency and health</th><td>✗<br />We recommend checking the integrity and health of copies manually by recovering from a backup</td><td>✓<br />Consistency check. We recommend checking the health of copies manually by recovering from a backup</td><td>✗</td><td>✗</td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <th>Pricing</th><td>You are charged per each GB of stored backups. Pricing for storage can be viewed on [selectel.ru](https://selectel.ru/prices/)</td><td>You are charged for the agent license (one cloud server — one agent) and space in the repository. Pricing for storage can be viewed on [selectel.ru](https://selectel.ru/prices/)</td><td>You are charged per each GB of stored images. Pricing for storage can be viewed on [selectel.ru](https://selectel.ru/prices/)</td><td>The cost of storing a snapshot is equal to the cost of the volume from which it was created. Pricing for volumes can be viewed on [selectel.ru](https://selectel.ru/prices/)</td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
</CustomTable>

## Solutions for storing copies \{#solutions-for-storing-copies}

You can set up backup on a cloud server using scripts or utilities and organize their automatic transfer to Selectel storage or keep external backups.

### S3 \{#object-storage}

You can manually transfer data to [Selectel S3](/s3/) or [create a script](/s3/manage/create-backup-on-schedule.mdx#create-script) to automate the transfer. You can create backups of any data from any storage media.

To work with the storage, use Rclone, S3cmd, AWS CLI, or other tools.

### File storage \{#file-storage}

You can connect [file storage](/file-storage/) to a cloud server as external storage for backups using NFS or CIFS protocols. Set up backup manually using utilities, and upload the copies to the file storage.

All data in file storage is kept in three copies.

### Veeam Cloud Connect \{#veeam-cloud-connect}

If you use Veeam Backup & Replication™ or Veeam Availability Suite to create backups, you can transfer them to a [Veeam Cloud Connect](/veeam-cloud-connect/) cloud repository.

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