---
title: "Backups"
description: "Learn how to create and manage backups for your VMs on Edge Network. Snapshots, restore points, and disaster recovery."
url: https://edge.network/docs/compute/backups/
---

# Backups

Data Protection

# Backups

Protect your data with VM snapshots and backups.

## Overview

Edge Network provides snapshot-based backups for your VMs. A snapshot captures the entire state of your VM's disk at a specific point in time, allowing you to restore to that exact state if needed.

### Manual Snapshots

Create snapshots on-demand before making changes or deployments.

### Restore Anytime

Roll back to any saved snapshot with a single click.

## Creating a Snapshot

Create a snapshot to save the current state of your VM's disk.

- Navigate to your VM's **Backups** tab
- Click **Create Snapshot**
- Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Before nginx update" or "2024-01-15")
- Click **Create**

Screenshot: Create Snapshot dialog

**Tip:** For best results, create snapshots when your VM is idle or has minimal activity. This ensures a consistent snapshot.

**Note:** Snapshots capture the disk state, but not in-memory data. For databases, consider using database-native backup tools alongside snapshots.

## Managing Snapshots

View and manage all snapshots for a VM from the Backups tab.

| Information | Description |
| Name | The name you gave the snapshot |
| Created | Date and time the snapshot was taken |
| Size | Size of the snapshot |
| Status | Ready, Creating, or Error |

Screenshot: Snapshots list with multiple backups

## Restoring from a Snapshot

Roll back your VM to a previous state by restoring from a snapshot.

- Go to your VM's **Backups** tab
- Find the snapshot you want to restore
- Click **Restore**
- Confirm the restoration

Warning: This will overwrite current data

Restoring a snapshot replaces all current data on your VM's disk with the snapshot's data. Any changes made after the snapshot was taken will be lost.

### What happens during restore:

- Your VM will be stopped if it's running
- The disk is replaced with the snapshot contents
- Your VM is restarted automatically
- IP addresses and other settings remain unchanged

## Deleting Snapshots

Delete old snapshots you no longer need to free up storage.

- Go to your VM's **Backups** tab
- Find the snapshot you want to delete
- Click the trash icon
- Confirm deletion

**Warning:** Deleted snapshots cannot be recovered. Make sure you no longer need the snapshot before deleting.

## Limits and Pricing

### Snapshot Limits

3

Snapshots per VM

$0.05

Per GB per month

7 days

Default retention

Need more snapshots or longer retention? Contact support to discuss enterprise backup options.

## Best Practices

Snapshot Before Major Changes

Always create a snapshot before updates, deployments, or configuration changes.

Use Descriptive Names

Name snapshots with dates or descriptions so you know what state they represent.

Combine with Application-Level Backups

For databases, use pg_dump, mysqldump, etc. in addition to VM snapshots.

Test Your Restores

Periodically test restoring a snapshot to ensure your backups work when needed.

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