Automated backups capture the root disk and all attached persistent data volumes on a schedule. Once enabled, recovery points appear in the Backup Recovery Points list and can be restored in place, used to create a new VM, or rolled back per-disk.
Steps
11. Open Backups
On the server detail page, open the Backups tab.
22. Enable Automated Backups
Toggle Automated Backups to Enabled. The schedule controls become editable.
33. Pick a frequency
Use the Schedule backups dropdown:
- Daily — runs every day at the chosen time.
- Weekly — runs once per week on the chosen day.
44. Pick the day (Weekly only)
If you chose Weekly, pick a day under On: Sunday through Saturday.
55. Pick the time
Use the At dropdown to choose an hourly UTC slot — 00:00, 01:00, … 23:00.
Pick a window of low workload activity. Backups run online (the VM stays up) but I/O is briefly busier; pick a time outside peak hours.
66. Wait for save
Schedule changes save automatically. A Saving… indicator confirms the change has been persisted; once it returns to idle, the schedule is active.
Verify the schedule
The fields you saved remain visible at the top of the Backups tab. The next backup runs at the next matching slot — for example, a Weekly + Sunday + 12:00 UTC schedule saved on Tuesday will first run the following Sunday at 12:00 UTC.
The first run produces a recovery point in Backup Recovery Points:
- Name like
srp-20260509T162709Z
- Disks:
Root + N data disk(s)
- Storage: total recovery footprint (for example
60 GB)
Disable backups
To stop scheduled backups for a VM, toggle Automated Backups to Disabled. Existing recovery points are retained according to the retention policy and can still be restored — only the schedule is paused.
What gets captured
Backups always capture:
- The root disk.
- Every persistent data volume attached at the time the schedule runs.
If you attach a new volume midway through a week, it’s included starting from the next scheduled run. If you detach a volume before a run, that volume is not in subsequent recovery points.
Best practices
- Pick a low-traffic window. UTC schedules; convert from your local time before choosing.
- Use weekly + selective snapshots if daily storage cost is a concern — cover routine protection with weekly backups, take manual snapshots before risky changes.
- Test restore before you need it. Use Create New VM restore mode periodically to confirm your recovery points are usable.
- Keep separate copies of critical data. Automated backups protect a single VM; for cross-region resilience, also use Cross-region snapshots or replicate to Object Storage.
Related pages
