{"article":{"id":"0c8ceb77aec6974293a8891d6f1cfd91","categorySlug":"cloud-vps","slug":"vps-snapshots-backups","title":"Snapshots and backups","excerpt":"Take and restore snapshots of your VPS, and enable the Backups add-on for full copies stored separately from your server.","body":"Snapshots and backups both protect the data on your VPS, and both live in the same place: open your server in the control panel and go to the **Backups** tab. They solve different problems, so it helps to know which one to reach for.\n\n# Snapshots or backups?\n\n- A snapshot is a picture of your server at a single moment. It is made in moments and you can revert to it in a couple of clicks. Take one right before any risky change — a software upgrade, a configuration edit, a migration — so you have an instant way back.\n- A backup is a full copy of your server's disk stored separately from the machine your server runs on. That makes it the safer choice for longer-term protection: even if something happens to the server itself, the backup is unaffected.\n- Every VPS includes 3 free snapshots. You take snapshots yourself, when you need them — there is no automatic schedule. Backups are a paid add-on; while the add-on is active you can also keep more than 3 snapshots.\n\nA good rule of thumb: snapshot before every risky change, and keep backups if losing the server's data would hurt.\n\n# Take a snapshot\n\n1. In the portal sidebar, open **Cloud VPS** (or **Cloud Instances**, depending on the product) and click **Manage** on your server.\n2. Go to the **Backups** tab. The **Snapshots** card shows a counter of how many of your 3 free snapshots are in use.\n3. Type a short name in **Label (optional)** — for example \"Before kernel upgrade\" — so you can recognise the snapshot later.\n4. Click **Take snapshot**. The new snapshot appears in the list shortly after.\n\n![The Snapshots card on the Backups tab, with two snapshots and the free-snapshot counter](/assets/kb/vps/snapshots.png)\n\nIf your server is running when you take the snapshot, its memory is captured too — after a revert it comes back exactly as it was, running programs included.\n\nWhen all 3 free snapshots are used, the card tells you so. Delete an older snapshot to free a slot, or enable the Backups add-on to keep more.\n\n# Revert or delete a snapshot\n\nEach snapshot in the list has two actions:\n\n- **Revert** returns the server to the exact state in the snapshot. Click **Revert**, then **Confirm revert**.\n- **Delete** removes the snapshot and frees one of your slots. Click **Delete**, then **Confirm**.\n\n\u003e Reverting discards all changes made since the snapshot was taken. If there is recent work you might still need, take a fresh snapshot first.\n\n# Enable the Backups add-on\n\n1. On the **Backups** tab, find the **Backups** card and click **Add Backups**. The current monthly price is shown on the button.\n2. You are taken to an invoice for the add-on. Pay it by card or crypto — see [Invoices, VAT and how to pay](/kb/invoices-vat-payment).\n3. The add-on activates as soon as the invoice is paid, and its price is included in the service's future renewals.\n\nOnce active, the counter on the **Snapshots** card changes to show that the Backups add-on is active, and the backup controls unlock.\n\n# Create and restore backups\n\n1. In the **Backups** card, add a **Label (optional)** if you like and click **Back up now**.\n2. The backup is created in the background — the entry first shows as creating, then as ready with its size in GB. You can keep using your server in the meantime.\n3. To roll the server back to a backup, click **Restore**, then **Confirm restore**.\n4. To remove a backup you no longer need, click **Delete**.\n\n\u003e Restoring a backup replaces the server's current disk with the backup's contents, and the server briefly restarts. Anything written to the disk after the backup was made is lost.\n\n# Before you reinstall or rescue\n\nReinstalling the operating system erases the server's disk, and repairs made in rescue mode can also go wrong. Take a snapshot — or a backup for extra safety — before you start. See [Reinstall the OS or boot rescue mode](/kb/vps-reinstall-rescue).","status":"published","position":3,"createdAt":"2026-07-15T11:11:28Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-15T11:11:28Z"},"related":[{"id":"d8103957296579e9e635fc7800bda7a2","categorySlug":"cloud-vps","slug":"choosing-a-vps-line","title":"Choose a line: Standard, 100 Gbps, GPU or hourly Cloud Instances","excerpt":"Understand the difference between fixed Cloud VPS and GPU VPS plans and build-your-own Cloud Instances, and pick the right line and billing mode for your workload.","position":1,"status":"published"},{"id":"c9cf35dfb5bb44829ae9715fe04d2446","categorySlug":"cloud-vps","slug":"deploy-and-connect-vps","title":"Deploy a server and connect","excerpt":"Create a cloud server, follow the build, find its IP address and root password, then log in over SSH or through the web console in the portal.","position":2,"status":"published"},{"id":"d0b4b2a67b8b95c63cbf6cfc1eb4bc21","categorySlug":"cloud-vps","slug":"vps-resize-plan-change","title":"Resize or change plan","excerpt":"Scale a cloud server up or down — resize a Cloud Instance's vCPU and memory, or move your Cloud VPS or GPU VPS to a bigger or smaller plan.","position":4,"status":"published"},{"id":"0485ae6dd65a367370dbbed64cad33f3","categorySlug":"cloud-vps","slug":"vps-cloud-firewall","title":"Use the cloud firewall","excerpt":"Enable the per-server cloud firewall, open only the ports you need with presets or custom rules, and deploy changes safely without locking yourself out.","position":5,"status":"published"},{"id":"4802898cfe282d785888fe76cd1121a5","categorySlug":"cloud-vps","slug":"vps-reinstall-rescue","title":"Reinstall the OS or boot rescue mode","excerpt":"Wipe your VPS and install a fresh operating system, or boot rescue mode to repair a server that no longer starts — without losing its data.","position":6,"status":"published"}]}