Recommended backup strategies

A robust backup plan protects your data from accidents, ransomware and hardware failure. This page outlines general strategies to build reliable backups for your VPS or dedicated server.

Follow the 3‑2‑1 rule
- Keep at least three copies of your data: the production copy and two backups.
- Use two different storage types or locations (for example, your provider’s snapshot storage and off‑site cloud object storage).
- Store at least one copy off‑site in a different geographic location.
- For added resiliency, keep one immutable or offline copy and perform regular integrity checks to ensure there are no zero‑byte or corrupted backups. An immutable storage tier with versioning protects against ransomware.

Understand backup types
- **Full backups** copy the entire file system and configuration. They provide the most reliable restoration but are also the largest. Use full backups periodically (e.g., weekly or monthly) and combine them with lighter backups.
- **Incremental backups** store only the changes since the last backup, making them efficient for daily or hourly schedules. Restoring requires the last full backup plus all incremental backups.
- **Differential backups** store all changes since the last full backup. They strike a balance between storage and recovery speed; only two sets (the last full and the last differential) are needed for restoration.
- **Snapshots** capture the state of your server at a point in time. They are ideal before upgrades or major changes but should not be relied on as your primary backup because they reside on the same server hardware.

Set appropriate frequency and retention
- Schedule backups according to your recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). Dynamic databases might need hourly backups, while static websites can use daily or weekly backups.
- Combine short‑term snapshots with daily incremental and weekly full backups to balance storage costs and recovery speed.
- Retain multiple restore points, including short‑term backups (e.g., last 7 days) and long‑term archives (e.g., monthly snapshots for 6 – 12 months) to meet compliance requirements.

Test and monitor your backups
- Periodically test restoring backups to ensure they work and meet your recovery objectives. Testing helps you verify that backups are not corrupted and that you can restore within the expected timeframe.
- Monitor backup jobs for success and investigate any failures promptly. Automate notifications so you know when backups have completed or failed.

Off‑site and cloud backups
- Use off‑site or cloud storage for at least one backup copy to protect against site‑wide disasters. IllusionCloud Cloud Storage (S3‑compatible) can store backups with geographic replication for added resilience.
- Ensure your off‑site backups are encrypted and that you have the credentials and keys needed to restore them.

By following these guidelines, you can build a robust backup strategy that balances cost, performance, and reliability while ensuring that your data is recoverable when you need it.