Creating a backup - AWS Backup
Creating automatic backupsCreating on-demand backupsBackup job statusesHow incremental backups workAccess to source resources

Creating a backup

With AWS Backup, you can create backups automatically using backup plans or manually by initiating an on-demand backup.

Creating automatic backups

When backups are created automatically by backup plans, they are configured with the lifecycle settings that are defined in the backup plan. They are organized in the backup vault that is specified in the backup plan. They are also assigned the tags that are listed in the backup plan. For more information about backup plans, see Managing backups using backup plans.

Creating on-demand backups

When you create an on-demand backup, you can configure these settings for the backup that is being created. When a backup is created either automatically or manually, a backup job is initiated. For how to create an on-demand backup, see Creating an on-demand backup.

Note: An on-demand backup creates a backup job; the backup job will transition in state of Running within an hour (or when specified). You can choose an on-demand backup if you wish to create a backup at a time other than the scheduled time defined in a backup plan. An on-demand backup can be used, for example, to test backup and functionality at any time.

On-demand backups cannot be used with point-in-time restore (PITR) since an on-demand backup preserves resources in the state they are in when the backup is taken, whereas PITR uses continuous backups which record changes over a period of time.

Backup job statuses

Each backup job has a unique ID. For example, D48D8717-0C9D-72DF-1F56-14E703BF2345.

You can view the status of a backup job on the Jobs page of the AWS Backup console. Backup job statuses include pending, running, aborted, completed, and failed.

How incremental backups work

Many resources support incremental backup with AWS Backup. A full list is available in the incremental backup section of the Feature availability by resource table.

Although each backup after the first one is incremental (meaning it only captures changes from the previous backup), all backups made with AWS Backup retain the necessary reference data to allow a full restore. This is true even if the original (full) backup has reached the end of its lifecycle and been deleted.

For example, if your day 1 (full) backup was deleted due to a 3-day lifecycle policy, you would still be able to perform a full restore with the backups from days 2 and 3. AWS Backup maintains the necessary reference data from day 1 to do so.

Access to source resources

AWS Backup needs access to your source resources to back them up. For example:

  • To back up an Amazon EC2 instance, the instance can be in the running or stopped state, but not the terminated state. This is because a running or stopped instance can communicate with AWS Backup, but a terminated instance cannot.

  • To back up a virtual machine, its hypervisor must have the Backup gateway status ONLINE. For more information, see Understanding hypervisor status.

  • To back up an Amazon RDS database, Amazon Aurora, or Amazon DocumentDB cluster, those resources must have the status AVAILABLE.

  • To back up an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS), it must have the status AVAILABLE.

  • To back up an Amazon FSx file system, it must have the status AVAILABLE. If the status is UPDATING, the backup request is queued until the file system becomes AVAILABLE.

    FSx for ONTAP doesn’t support backing up certain volume types, including DP (data-protection) volumes, LS (load-sharing) volumes, FlexGroup volumes, full volumes, or volumes on file systems that are full. For more information, please see FSx for ONTAP Working with backups.

AWS Backup retains previously-created backups consistent with your lifecycle policy, regardless of the health of your source resource.

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