Save the machine as it is, then change it freely.
You take a snapshot by hand, name it yourself and keep it until you decide to delete it. You grab one right before a change you feel unsure about.
VPS VDS
As many as you keep, for as long as you keep them
Nothing expires a snapshot and nothing rotates one out from under you. Your list shows exactly what you put on it, in the order you took them, each bearing the description you typed.
- You name each image so you still know what it is six months later.
- Nothing gets deleted on a schedule you did not set.
- Taking a copy does not stop the machine from running.
- The platform holds the image rather than the machine's own disk.
Snapshot or backup
Both give you an image of the whole disk. They differ in who decides when one gets taken and how long it lives.
| Snapshot or backup | Snapshot | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Who takes it | You, at the moment you choose. | The platform, during its own window, once you switch it on. |
| How long it lives | Until you delete it. | As long as the platform keeps that window's copies. |
| What it is for | A change you are about to make on purpose. | The failure you did not plan for. |
| What it captures | The whole disk, below the operating system. | The whole disk, below the operating system. |
| Hardware | VPS and VDS. | VPS and VDS. |
The life of one snapshot
You make four moves.
The cloud platform holds snapshots under a VPS or a VDS, so you do not get them on a dedicated server. On physical hardware, you write an equivalent image to storage you attach yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How many snapshots can I keep?
Keep as many as you want. The console does not prune them and nothing expires on its own. That is the whole point of the feature.
Does taking one interrupt my sites?
No. The platform writes the image underneath the machine while it keeps serving requests.
Can I use a snapshot to set up a second machine?
Yes, that is a great use for it. Get one machine exactly how you want it and snapshot it. You now have a starting point that saves you a fresh install.
Should I use snapshots instead of backups?
Use both. A snapshot covers the change you make on purpose, while a backup covers the night you are asleep. They remain easy to reason about because they are exactly the same kind of image.
More in the server console
Take the first one before you need it
Snapshots are part of every Hostrena VPS and VDS from the first boot.