Data Protection
Backups
Protect your data with VM snapshots and backups.
Overview
Edge Network provides snapshot-based backups for your VMs. A snapshot captures the entire state of your VM's disk at a specific point in time, allowing you to restore to that exact state if needed.
Manual Snapshots
Create snapshots on-demand before making changes or deployments.
Restore Anytime
Roll back to any saved snapshot with a single click.
Creating a Snapshot
Create a snapshot to save the current state of your VM's disk.
- Navigate to your VM's Backups tab
- Click Create Snapshot
- Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Before nginx update" or "2024-01-15")
- Click Create
Screenshot: Create Snapshot dialog
Tip: For best results, create snapshots when your VM is idle or has minimal activity. This ensures a consistent snapshot.
Note: Snapshots capture the disk state, but not in-memory data. For databases, consider using database-native backup tools alongside snapshots.
Managing Snapshots
View and manage all snapshots for a VM from the Backups tab.
| Information | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name you gave the snapshot |
| Created | Date and time the snapshot was taken |
| Size | Size of the snapshot |
| Status | Ready, Creating, or Error |
Screenshot: Snapshots list with multiple backups
Restoring from a Snapshot
Roll back your VM to a previous state by restoring from a snapshot.
- Go to your VM's Backups tab
- Find the snapshot you want to restore
- Click Restore
- Confirm the restoration
Warning: This will overwrite current data
Restoring a snapshot replaces all current data on your VM's disk with the snapshot's data. Any changes made after the snapshot was taken will be lost.
What happens during restore:
- Your VM will be stopped if it's running
- The disk is replaced with the snapshot contents
- Your VM is restarted automatically
- IP addresses and other settings remain unchanged
Deleting Snapshots
Delete old snapshots you no longer need to free up storage.
- Go to your VM's Backups tab
- Find the snapshot you want to delete
- Click the trash icon
- Confirm deletion
Warning: Deleted snapshots cannot be recovered. Make sure you no longer need the snapshot before deleting.
Limits and Pricing
Snapshot Limits
3
Snapshots per VM
Included
In your plan
7 days
Default retention
Need more snapshots or longer retention? Contact support to discuss enterprise backup options.
Best Practices
Snapshot Before Major Changes
Always create a snapshot before updates, deployments, or configuration changes.
Use Descriptive Names
Name snapshots with dates or descriptions so you know what state they represent.
Combine with Application-Level Backups
For databases, use pg_dump, mysqldump, etc. in addition to VM snapshots.
Test Your Restores
Periodically test restoring a snapshot to ensure your backups work when needed.