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This guide explains how to create a backup of a Cloud VPS in the form of a snapshot.
What is a Snapshot?
A snapshot is like a photo of your Cloud VPS at a specific moment. It contains everything on your server, including your operating system, applications, data, etc.
Snapshots can be used for various purposes, including:
- protecting your Cloud VPS in case of issues: if you encounter a problem with your Cloud VPS, you can restore a snapshot to return to a previous state
- testing changes safely: before making significant changes to your Cloud VPS, you can create a snapshot to revert if necessary
It is recommended to create snapshots regularly, for example, once a week or month. This will allow you to have a history of your Cloud VPS and the ability to roll back in case of issues.
Infomaniak Snapshots
You have access to a free snapshot to back up your entire server in a dedicated space. If needed, it's possible to order additional space or delete a snapshot to create a new one.
Two types of backups are available:
- Data snapshot: creates an image of the volume containing your data (not available for Windows distributions)
- Operating system snapshot: creates an image of the volume containing your operating system. This type of backup involves a brief interruption of your applications and websites.
You can, of course, restore the state of the Cloud VPS using the previously created snapshot.
Create a Snapshot
To do this:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser such as Brave or Firefox
- Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Cloud VPS (under Cloud Computing)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Snapshot in the left sidebar menu
- Click the blue Create a Snapshot
- Choose the type of snapshot to create (data or operating system)
- Click the blue button to start creating the snapshot
- An email is sent when the snapshot is generated
Delete a Snapshot
To do this:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser such as Brave or Firefox
- Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Cloud VPS (under Cloud Computing)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Snapshot in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the action menu â‹® to the right of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Delete
Order Additional Snapshots
To do this:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser such as Brave or Firefox
- Click on the shopping cart icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Cloud VPS (under Cloud Computing)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Snapshot in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the shopping cart icon
- Follow the instructions to complete the order
You cannot order an additional snapshot while a snapshot is being created.
This guide explains how to restore a snapshot of Infomaniak's Cloud VPS.
Restore a Snapshot
To do this:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Cloud VPS (in the Cloud Computing universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Snapshot in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the action menu â‹® to the right of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Restore
- Click the blue button to start the snapshot restoration process
- An email is sent when the snapshot is restored
Restore the Operating System Disk
Restoring the system volume, as in the example above, is an irreversible operation. The operating system disk will be replaced by the snapshot, and the server will return to the exact state at the time of the backup.
Data stored on the data volume (vdb) is not affected by this operation.
Restore the Data Disk (vdb)
Two data restoration modes are possible:
1. "Read-only" Mode
If the snapshot size differs from the volume size, only this read-only mode is available.
This option allows you to mount the snapshot data image, providing read-only access to the backup data.
For reference, here are useful commands for utilizing your backup:
- To access the main data volume:
mount /dev/vdb /mnt/
- To mount the data volume in a specific "backup" folder:
mount -o nouuid -o ro,norecovery /dev/vdc /backup
To find out which letter to use (/dev/vd?), you can use the lsblk
command:
2. "Restoration" Mode
Restoring the data volume is an irreversible operation. The data disk (vdb) will be replaced by the snapshot. After restoration, it will be necessary to remount the data volume to refresh your operating system's content.
The following procedure and commands are provided for reference only:
- Ensure that your data volume is not mounted:
umount /mnt
(/mnt or the location you had chosen to access your data) - Remount the data volume:
mount /dev/(vdb) /mnt
To determine the name of the data volume attached to your server, you can use the lsblk
command (see above).
This guide explains how to restore backups of previous versions of your files and other web data from your Infomaniak hosting, and how to set up an effective backup policy if the backups made available automatically and free of charge do not or no longer correspond to your needs. needs in terms of availability or security.
Web hosting (Starter, Shared, Cloud Server)
Guides to restore automatic backups:
- of an entire accommodation
- specific files on hosting
- specific databases
- of a Web Application (Wordpress & Apps)
- Cloud Server SSH crons
Also read these guides for backing up and restoring :
- hosting with Swiss Backup and Acronis (simple)
- hosting with Swiss Backup and Restic (advanced)
- WordPress with Swiss Backup
- WordPress with a plugin
Read also https://faq.infomaniak.com/ snapshot
Hosting v1 (old 60 GB offer)
- view and/or download the automatic backup ( versioning) of your data on your FTP space under /backups and /backup_mysql at the root of the domain (above /web)
- restore this data
Email
- restore messages from automatic backups Infomaniak
- restore contacts or events _
- save the current contents of an email account:
- by duplicating all current content to a rescue box
- by copying emails as they arrive to a backup box
- by downloading current content locally
This guide details how to retrieve recently disappeared emails for free (deleted in error by the user, for example).
Indeed, Infomaniak keeps 7 backups (= 7 "snapshots" of the content of each mail account), with a backup made once a day. It is therefore possible to restore the mailbox as it was in the last 6 or 7 days (without touching the emails received in the meantime).
Recovered Elements
- Emails no longer existing when you request restoration will be returned to their original location.
- Some settings related to your email address (part "autoresponder" and part "redirection" in particular) will also be restored if they have changed in the meantime.
Unrecovered Elements
- Moved emails that were not deleted will not necessarily reappear where expected since they still exist somewhere in the email account's hierarchy - they need to be searched for.
- Backup restoration does not include the calendar or the address book.
- Emails not yet present or no longer present at the time of the daily backup execution (also read the POP3 chapter below).
Restore from Mail Service
Prerequisites
- Have administrator or legal representative rights on the account where the email address is located.
- Ensure that the deletion occurred less than 7 days ago.
To restore emails from a Mail Service:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge.
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example).
- Select Mail Service (universe Collaborative Tools).
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table.
- Click on the relevant email address in the displayed table
. - Click on the Actions on the address button at the top right.
- Click on Restore emails
- Select a Restoration date (only for the last 7 days).
- Click on Restore emails.
- Once the restoration is complete, you will receive an informational email.
Restore from Mail Infomaniak
Prerequisites
- Ensure that the deletion occurred less than 7 days ago.
- Have valid access to Mail Infomaniak where the email address is attached.
- Have permission to change the password of the address: if you were invited to Mail to manage your address, it is possible that the Mail Service manager has removed this right from their admin account.
To restore emails from the Mail Infomaniak interface:
- Log in to Mail Infomaniak (mail.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge.
- Show the email address to be restored from the left sidebar menu.
- Click on Advanced Actions.
- Click on Restore
- Select a Restoration date (only for the last 7 days).
- Click on Restore emails.
- Once the restoration is complete, an informational email is sent.
Emails Stored in Unconventional Folders
If you store your messages in folders with unusual names (e.g., folders named Trash or Spam), read the important information presented in this guide.Users of Email Software Configured with POP3
If you are used to accessing your mailbox with email software like Outlook and it is configured with the POP / POP3 protocol, you will not be able to restore everything since the backup is done once a day, it only keeps messages that were at the time of the backup in the Infomaniak inbox; the same goes for your other folders (e.g., Sent Messages) present in the POP3 software: these are not synchronized with Infomaniak and therefore are not backed up; in the future, it is necessary to prefer the IMAP protocol in your email software.
Infomaniak does not perform any backups of the VPS Cloud / VPS Lite. However, you can still:
- create a server snapshot (non-automated backup)
- backup the server to Swiss Backup (automated backup)
This guide details how to back up data from your folders and nodes on Jelastic Cloud using the OpenStack Swift protocol on Swiss Backup, the backup solution in an independent Swiss cloud.
For this purpose, an extension is provided for Virtuozzo (Jelastic Cloud). Learn more about the extension (add-on) on Github.
Prerequisites
- Use Jelastic Cloud (at least one Jelastic environment must be active with the extension installed for your backups to be visible)
- Own an Infomaniak Swiss Backup space with an available device quota (minimum 1) for Cloud backup
- Add 1 device of type Cloud to obtain OpenStack Swift settings
⚠️ Swiss Backup is compatible with any application supporting Openstack Swift, S3 Compatible, or SFTP. For additional assistance, contact a partner — also read the hosting provider's role.
Configuring the Swiss Backup extension on Jelastic Cloud
To add the useful extension to Swiss Backup on Jelastic Cloud:
- Log in to your server's Jelastic Cloud Dashboard
- Go to Marketplace
- Search for and install the Backup / Restoration extension
Two types of backups are possible and detailed below:
- Backup specific folders
- Create a snapshot of an entire node
Backing Up Specific Folders
For backing up specific directories:
- Enter the username and password according to your device's specific information (read this guide - click here)
- Check Backup your data
- Check Backup specific folders
- Enter the absolute path of the folders to back up in the Folders to backup field; you can specify multiple folders by separating each path with a comma, e.g., /root/admin/, /home/user1/, /jelastic/containers/ (in this example, 3 folders have been specified)
Then, define the backup frequency (explained below).
Backing Up an Entire Node
For backing up an entire node:
- Enter the username and password of your Swift device on Swiss Backup
- Check Backup your data
- Check Backup all files to back up the entire file system of a node; some files are automatically excluded:
- /dev, /proc, /sys, /run folders
- Unmounted file systems as part of the root partition, including virtual file systems
Then, define the backup frequency (explained below).
Defining Backup Frequency and Retention Policy
Backup Frequency
Two options are available for performing the backup:
- daily (at 8 p.m. UTC)
- hourly (at the beginning of each hour, e.g., at 1 p.m., at 2 p.m., etc.)
Retention Policy
You can set the retention duration of your backups in years, months, days, and hours. To keep your backups indefinitely, simply set the parameters to 0.
For example, if you perform backups hourly and set a retention policy for 1 year, 2 months, 4 days, 2 hours, each backup will be available for a period of 1 year, 2 months, 4 days, 2 hours (=10322 backups). Note that backup deletions occur every Sunday at 10:30 p.m. (UTC).
Attention: Do not set all parameters to 0, as permanent backups can cause backup failures.
Recommended Limits:- Year: 1
- Month: 12
- Days: 99
For hourly backups, a maximum retention of one month is recommended. Beyond this value, some backups may fail.
Restoring Backups
Restoring Node Data
- Log in to your server's Jelastic Dashboard
- Go to Marketplace
- Search for and install the Swiss Backup extension
- Enter the username and password of your Swift device on Swiss Backup
- Check Restore your data
- Select the node containing the backup to restore
- Select the backup to restore and the restore folder
- Click the Restore button
Restoring Specific Folders from a Snapshot (CLI)
Each backup corresponds to a unique ID. You can include and exclude folders from your snapshots during a restore. To view your snapshots:
- . /home/.config/swissbackup/openrc.sh
- restic snapshots
- Use --exclude and --include to restrict restoration to a subset of files in the snapshot. For example, to restore a single file: restore 79766175 --target /tmp/restore-work --include /work/foo
There are case-insensitive variants of --exclude and --include called --iexclude and --iinclude. These options behave the same way but ignore case in paths.
Modifying Backup Configuration
- Log in to your server's Jelastic Dashboard
- Go to Marketplace
- Search for and install the Swiss Backup extension
- Modify the configuration as desired
Manually Modifying Backup Scheduling (CLI)
Backup scheduling is defined by a cronjob, and backups are performed using the restic tool.
To modify the scheduling of your backups:
As root user, run the command crontab -l to display the current schedules:- the line containing retention-all.sh corresponds to the backup task
- the line containing purge.sh corresponds to the backup retention task
Example:
Modify the schedule using the command crontab -e
You can modify the line composed of the script rentention-all.sh or retention.sh; these scripts correspond to launching your backups. Note: the crons have been designed not to cause problems between multiple backups and deletions. Please pay attention to the time required for backups and deletions.- Learn more about cronjobs: crontab.guru
- Learn more about restic: restic.net
Manually Deleting Backups (CLI)
- Source the configuration file:
. /home/.config/swissbackup/openrc.sh - Display available backups:
restic snapshots - Delete the desired backup:
restic forget IdBackup --prune - Delete all backups of a file except one:
restic forget --tag folders --keep-last 1 --prune
Delete Backup Schedule
This button allows you to delete your backup schedule:
Uninstalling the Swiss Backup Extension
It is necessary to remove the backup schedule (see above) before you can uninstall the Swiss Backup extension:
This guide details the Managed Cloud Server offering, which allows you to create multiple hosting environments ("FTP spaces" for which you create your FTP/SSH accounts) on which you can add websites ("Apache vhosts" for the specified domain), and the VPS offering intended for different use.
Breaking free from shared hosting limitations
With a Managed Cloud Server, distribute your websites across your hosting environments as you wish. You can configure them by specifying the root directory as well as certain information like the memory_limit and max_execution_time beyond the limits imposed by a shared environment.
Web tools are available such as cron jobs, Site Creator, WordPress (which allows for the easy installation and use of WordPress) or access and error logs. It is entirely possible to add a specific Apache module or install a caching system.
Managed Cloud Server or VPS?
Managed (Cloud Server)
Infomaniak manages the software part of the servers under FastCGI and PHP-FPM without allowing you to freely configure the server (no custom installation, for example). Only specific programs can be installed by us. Learn more
Unmanaged (VPS)
Infomaniak handles the hardware and installs the chosen version of Linux or Windows upon order. No software intervention. The Server is under "your responsibility". You can restart the server via the Infomaniak Manager and a snapshot system is available (excluding VPS Lite).
If you are hesitant to take a Cloud Server and plan mostly for significant video content, you can combine a shared hosting with a VOD space. This solves problems of overload on a site as it allows you to separate audiovisual content from your shared hosting and thus have a video storage space that easily handles significant traffic increases. You will also have detailed statistics regarding the viewing of your videos.
Switching from one to the other...
To migrate from a Managed Cloud Server to a VPS, or vice versa, there is no "ready-made" solution. For this type of migration, you need to terminate the product that is no longer desired and then order the product you need instead. Infomaniak refunds any purchase of a new server upon request if the cancellation occurs within 30 days of ordering.