--- title: "Backing up an instance" description: "Learn how to create manual and automatic backups of a Public Cloud instance." url: https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/compute/save-an-instance lang: en --- > For AI agents: the complete documentation index is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms.txt, the full documentation bundle is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms-full.txt. # Backing up an instance **Learn how to create manual and automatic backups of a Public Cloud instance.** You can create a single backup of an instance or configure a schedule to automate your instance backups. Backups can be used to restore your instance to a previous state or to create a new, identical instance.   ## Requirements - A [Public Cloud instance](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/compute/getting-started.md) in your OVHcloud account - Access to the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/) - _Optional:_ Access to OpenStack CLI (see [this guide](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/cross-functional/compute-prepare-openstack-api-environment.md) to get started)   ## Topics - [Creating a manual backup of an instance](#creating-a-manual-backup-of-an-instance) - [Creating an automated backup of an instance](#creating-an-automated-backup-of-an-instance) - [Managing backups and schedules](#managing-backups-and-schedules) - [Manual backups](#manual-backups) - [Automatic backups](#automatic-backups)   ## Instructions **Note:** Two types of backup are available: - Local: A local backup is stored in the same region as your instance. - Remote: A remote backup automatically creates a copy of the local backup in a different region of your choice. Each backup is billed separately — the remote backup will be charged based on the storage pricing of the selected remote region. **Note:** Local Zones are not eligible for remote backups. ### Creating a manual backup of an instance #### Via the OVHcloud Control Panel From the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), access the `Public Cloud` section and select your Public Cloud project. Choose the `Instances` section from the left-hand menu. Click the _more options_ `...` button to the right of your instance and choose `Create a backup`. #### Local backup Enter a **name** for the backup, review the pricing information, and click `Confirm` to finalize. #### Remote backup Enter a name for the backup, review the pricing information, and click `Add a remote backup`. Enter a name for the remote backup, select a region, and click `Confirm`. It is not possible to track the backup's progress in real time. However, when you click the `Instance Backup` section, you can see the status "Backup in progress" during the process. Once the backup is complete, the status will change to "Enabled." ##### Via the OVHcloud API Log in to the [OVHcloud API](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/). You can list all available regions using the following API call: [GET /cloud/project/{ServiceName}/region](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud&branch=v1#get-/cloud/project/-ServiceName-/region) Then, use the following API call to create your backup: [POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance/{instanceId}/snapshot](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud&branch=v1#post-/cloud/project/-serviceName-/instance/-instanceId-/snapshot) Fill in the variables: - **instanceId**: The unique instance ID. - **regionName**: The region name where the source instance is located. - **serviceName**: The OVHcloud project ID. - **distantRegionName (optional)**: The  region name where the remote backup will be stored. - **distantSnapshotName (optional)**: The name of the remote backup to create in the remote region. - **snapshotName**: The name of the snapshot (local backup) to create. **Note:** Only create a remote backup if the parameters related to the remote region (**distantRegionName** and **distantSnapshotName**) are provided. You can also confirm that your backup was created successfully: [GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/snapshot](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud&branch=v1#get-/cloud/project/-serviceName-/snapshot) ##### Via the OpenStack CLI Run the following command to display the list of instances: ```bash openstack server list +--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------------------------------------------------+--------------+ | ID | Name | Status | Networks | Image Name | +--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------------------------------------------------+--------------+ | aa7115b3-83df-4375-b2ee-19339041dcfa | Server 1 | ACTIVE | Ext-Net=51.xxx.xxx.xxx, 2001:41d0:xxx:xxxx::xxxx | Ubuntu 16.04 | +--------------------------------------+-----------+--------+--------------------------------------------------+--------------+ ``` You can list all available regions using the following command: ```bash openstack region list ``` #### Local backup Then run the following command to create a backup of your instance: ```bash openstack server image create --name snap_server1 aa7115b3-83df-4375-b2ee-19339041dcfa ``` #### Remote backup Run the following command after following the local backup step: ```bash openstack workflow execution create ovh. glance.glance_download '{"src_image_id":"", "src_region":"", "dst_region":""}' ``` ##### Via Horizon Click on the `Compute` menu on the left, then select `Instances`.\ Then click on the `Create Snapshot` button to the right of the instance line. Fill in the backup name and press the `Create Snapshot` button.   ### Creating an automated backup of an instance **Note:** If you want to automate this functionality directly via OpenStack, you can create a Mistral workflow associated with a cron trigger. #### Via the OVHcloud Control Panel From the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), access the `Public Cloud` section and select your Public Cloud project. Choose the `Instances` section from the left-hand menu. Click the _more options_ `...` button to the right of your instance and choose `Create an automatic backup`. You can configure the backup settings on the next page.   #### The workflow Currently, only one workflow exists; it will create a backup of the instance and its primary volume. Select **Automatic instance backup** as your workflow, then click `Next`.   #### The resource Select the targeted instance that you wish to back up, then click `Next`.   #### The name Give the schedule a name, take note of the pricing information, and then click `Create`. Your backup workflow will be visible in the `Workflow Management` area under the **Compute** heading.   #### The schedule You can set up a custom backup schedule or choose one of the default frequencies: - Daily backup with retention of the last 7 backups, or - Daily backup with retention of the last 14 backups. Click `Next`. ##### Adding a remote backup Click the `Add a remote backup` button, select a location, review the pricing information, and then click the `Create` button. ###### Via the OVHcloud API From the [OVHcloud API](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/), you can create an automatic backup workflow using the following API call: [POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/region/{regionName}/workflow/backup](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud/project&branch=v1#post-/cloud/project/-serviceName-/region/-regionName-/workflow/backup) The backups are charged according to the space used, with a granularity of 1GB. Refer to the [Public Cloud pricing page](https://us.ovhcloud.com/public-cloud/prices/) for Instance Backup pricing. **Parameters:** | | | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Input** | **Notes** | | serviceName | API to obtain a list of available services (serviceName):`GET /cloud/project` | | regionName | API to obtain a list of available regions (regionName):`GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/region` | | instanceId | API to obtain a list of Instance IDs:`GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance` | | cron | Set to Unix cron format (time zone in UTC) | | maxExecutionCount | Set the number of executions to process before the end of the task. Zero (0) means that the task will never end. | | name | The name of the automatic backup schedule | | rotation | Set the number of backups to retain | You can verify the creation of your workflow with the following API call: [GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/region/{regionName}/workflow/backup](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud/project&branch=v1#get-/cloud/project/-serviceName-/region/-regionName-/workflow/backup)   ### Managing backups and schedules #### Manual backups **Warning:** **NOTE:** Instances and backups are charged separately. Deleting an instance will not stop the charges for instance backups. They must be deleted separately. **Warning:** **NOTE:** You cannot delete an instance backup if an instance that has been spawned from that backup is running at the time of the delete action. From the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), access the `Public Cloud` section and select your Public Cloud project. Choose the `Instance Backup` section from the left-hand menu. Click the _more options_ `...` button to the right of your backup. From here, you can `Create an instance` ([full instructions](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/compute/create-restore-a-virtual-server-with-a-backup.md)) or `Delete` the backup. **Via OVHcloud API** [DELETE /cloud/project/{serviceName}/snapshot/{snapshotId}](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud&branch=v1#delete-/cloud/project/-serviceName-/snapshot/-snapshotId-)   #### Automatic backups **Warning:** **NOTE:** Instances and workflows are charged separately. However, if you delete an instance, all workflows attached to it will be deleted automatically (after approx. 30 minutes). From the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), access the `Public Cloud` section and select your Public Cloud project. Choose the `Workflow Management` section from the left-hand menu. Click the _more options_ `...` button to the right of your backup schedule. From here, you can `Delete` the backup. **Via OVHcloud API** [DELETE /cloud/project/{serviceName}/region/{regionName}/workflow/backup/{backupWorkflowId}](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/console/?section=/cloud/project&branch=v1#delete-/cloud/project/-serviceName-/region/-regionName-/workflow/backup/-backupWorkflowId-)   ## Go further Browse all the [Compute guides](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/public-cloud/compute/landing-page-compute.md). Browse the rest of the [OVHcloud US documentation](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/index.md) for guides on our other products and services. Learn more about [Public Cloud Compute](https://us.ovhcloud.com/public-cloud/compute/) on the OVHcloud US website.