Managing backups using backup plans - AWS Backup

Managing backups using backup plans

In AWS Backup, a backup plan is a policy expression that defines when and how you want to back up your AWS resources, such as Amazon DynamoDB tables or Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file systems. You can assign resources to backup plans, and AWS Backup automatically backs up and retains backups for those resources according to the backup plan. You can create multiple backup plans if you have workloads with different backup requirements.

AWS Backup efficiently stores your periodic backups incrementally. The first backup of an AWS resource backs up a full copy of your data. For each successive incremental backup, only the changes to your AWS resources are backed up. Incremental backups enable you to benefit from the data protection of frequent backups while minimizing storage costs.

AWS Backup also seamlessly manages your backup chain, allowing you to restore at any time. This includes after your backup plan's lifecycle automatically deletes your only full backup because it has exceeded the retention period you defined.

The following sections provide the basics of managing your backup strategy in AWS Backup.