> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xloud.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Volume Backups

> Create full and incremental backups of block storage volumes. Covers backup creation, incremental strategy, and restore.

## Overview

Volume backups write a complete copy of volume data to a separate backup target — typically an object storage bucket — providing protection against storage cluster failure. Unlike snapshots, backups are stored independently of the source volume and can survive the loss of the primary storage cluster. Backups support a full + incremental strategy to minimize storage usage and backup time after the initial full copy.

<Note>
  **Prerequisites**

  * The backup service must be enabled and configured by your administrator
  * Sufficient backup storage quota (`openstack quota show`)
  * The source volume must exist (attached or detached)
</Note>

***

## Snapshot vs Backup

| Feature                  | Snapshot                    | Backup                                 |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Storage location         | Same cluster as source      | Separate backup target                 |
| Creation time            | Seconds                     | Minutes (data copy)                    |
| Incremental support      | Implicit (copy-on-write)    | Yes — after first full backup          |
| Survives cluster failure | No                          | Yes                                    |
| Restore time             | Seconds                     | Minutes                                |
| Long-term retention      | Limited by cluster capacity | Yes                                    |
| Use case                 | Fast checkpoints, cloning   | Disaster recovery, compliance archival |

<Tip>
  Combine both strategies: use [snapshots](/services/storage/snapshots) for frequent
  short-term checkpoints and backups for weekly full copies plus daily incrementals
  to a separate target.
</Tip>

***

## Create a Full Backup

<iframe className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S2r3F4fbp5Q" title="How to Create and Restore Volume Backups on Xloud" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen />

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Navigate to Volumes" icon="compass">
        Navigate to
        **Storage > Volumes**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create backup" icon="archive">
        Click the **More** dropdown and select **Data Protection > Create Backup** on the target volume.
        Provide a name and select **Full Backup** from the backup mode radio buttons
        (default for the first backup). Click **Confirm**.

        <Note>
          A full backup copies all data from the volume. Duration depends on volume size
          and available backup bandwidth — expect 1–5 minutes per 10 GiB for typical
          workloads.
        </Note>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Monitor progress" icon="activity">
        Navigate to **Storage > Volume Backups**. The backup status transitions
        through `creating` → `available`.

        <Check>Backup status shows **Available** — full backup complete.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Authenticate" icon="key">
        Source your credentials file to authenticate with the Xloud platform:

        ```bash title="Load credentials" theme={null}
        source openrc.sh
        ```

        <Tip>
          Your administrator provides the RC (credentials) file for your project. See [CLI Setup](/cli-setup) for configuration details.
        </Tip>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create a full backup" icon="archive">
        ```bash title="Create full backup" theme={null}
        openstack volume backup create \
          --name weekly-full-2026-03-18 \
          --description "Weekly full backup" \
          <volume-name-or-id>
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify backup status" icon="circle-check">
        ```bash title="Check backup status" theme={null}
        openstack volume backup show weekly-full-2026-03-18 -c status -c size
        ```

        Expected: `status = available`

        <Check>Full backup created and available for restore.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Create an Incremental Backup

After a full backup exists, incremental backups copy only the blocks that changed since
the last backup — significantly reducing backup time and storage usage.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Create incremental backup" icon="layers">
        Click the **More** dropdown and select **Data Protection > Create Backup** on the target volume.
        Provide a name and select **Increment Backup** from the backup mode
        radio buttons. Click **Confirm**.

        <Tip>
          Incremental backups depend on the existence of a previous backup for the same
          volume. If no previous backup exists, the backup service automatically creates
          a full backup instead.
        </Tip>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify" icon="circle-check">
        Navigate to **Storage > Volume Backups** and confirm the new backup appears
        with status **Available**.

        <Check>Incremental backup complete — only changed blocks were copied.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Create incremental backup" icon="layers">
        ```bash title="Create incremental backup" theme={null}
        openstack volume backup create \
          --name daily-incr-2026-03-18 \
          --incremental \
          <volume-name-or-id>
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="List all backups for a volume" icon="list">
        ```bash title="List backups" theme={null}
        openstack volume backup list --volume <volume-name-or-id>
        ```

        <Check>Incremental backup available alongside the full backup chain.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Restore from a Backup

<Warning>
  Restoring a backup to an **existing volume** overwrites that volume's data. Select
  **New Volume** to restore to a fresh volume and verify data integrity before
  overwriting the original.
</Warning>

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Navigate to Backups" icon="compass">
        Navigate to **Storage > Volume Backups**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Restore the backup">
        Click the **More** dropdown and select **Restore** on the target backup.

        The dialog shows the source volume name and status. The backup is restored
        to the **original volume** it was created from.

        <Warning>
          The source volume must be in `Available` or `In-use` status for restore.
          If the volume is in-use, all attached instances must be shut off before
          restoring.
        </Warning>

        Click **Confirm** to start the restore.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify" icon="circle-check">
        The restored volume appears in the Volumes list with status **Available**.
        [Attach it](/services/storage/attach-volume) and verify the data before
        making any changes.

        <Check>Volume restored from backup and ready for use.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="List available backups" icon="list">
        ```bash title="List backups" theme={null}
        openstack volume backup list
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Restore to a new volume" icon="rotate-ccw">
        ```bash title="Restore backup to new volume" theme={null}
        openstack volume backup restore \
          --name restored-from-backup-2026-03-18 \
          <backup-id>
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify the restored volume" icon="circle-check">
        ```bash title="Check restored volume" theme={null}
        openstack volume show restored-from-backup-2026-03-18 -c status -c size
        ```

        <Check>Status `available` — backup restored to a new volume.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Backup Retention Strategy

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Recommended retention schedule" icon="calendar">
    For production volumes, Xloud recommends:

    | Frequency  | Type        | Retention                            |
    | ---------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------ |
    | Weekly     | Full backup | Keep 4 (1 month)                     |
    | Daily      | Incremental | Keep 7 (1 week)                      |
    | Pre-change | Full backup | Keep until change is verified stable |

    Adjust retention to match your RTO/RPO requirements and backup quota limits.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Cleaning up old backups" icon="trash">
    List and delete outdated backups to free quota:

    ```bash title="List all backups with dates" theme={null}
    openstack volume backup list --long
    ```

    ```bash title="Delete a backup" theme={null}
    openstack volume backup delete <backup-id>
    ```

    <Warning>
      Deleting a backup from a backup chain (full + incrementals) may invalidate
      dependent incremental backups. Delete incrementals before deleting the full backup
      they depend on.
    </Warning>
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Volume Snapshots" href="/services/storage/snapshots" color="#197560">
    Complement backups with fast point-in-time snapshots for short-term recovery
  </Card>

  <Card title="Backup Configuration (Admin)" href="/services/storage/backup-config" color="#197560">
    Configure the backup service driver and target for your environment
  </Card>

  <Card title="Attach / Detach" href="/services/storage/attach-volume" color="#197560">
    Attach a restored volume and verify its data
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quota Management (Admin)" href="/services/storage/quotas" color="#197560">
    Manage backup quota limits across projects
  </Card>
</CardGroup>