Backup plan options and configuration
When you define a backup plan in the AWS Backup console, you configure the following options:
Backup plan name
You must provide a unique backup plan name.
If you choose name that is identical to the name of an existing plan, you will receive an error message.
Backup rules
Backup plans are composed of one or more backup rules. To add backup rules to a backup plan, or to edit existing rules in a backup plan:
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From the AWS Backup console, in the left navigation pane, choose Backup plans.
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Under Backup plan name, select a backup plan.
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Under the Backup rules section:
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To add a backup rule, choose Add backup rule.
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To edit an existing backup rule, select a rule, then choose Edit.
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Note
If you have a backup plan with multiple rules and the time frames of the two rules overlap, AWS Backup optimizes the backup and takes a backup for the rule with the longer retention time. The optimization takes into account the full start window, not just when the daily backup is taken.
Each backup rule consists of the following elements.
Backup rule name
Backup rule names are case sensitive. They must contain from 1 to 50 alphanumeric characters or hyphens.
Backup frequency
The backup frequency determines how often AWS Backup creates a snapshot backup. Using the console, you can choose a frequency of every hour, 12 hours, daily, weekly, or monthly. You can also create a cron expression that creates snapshot backups as frequently as hourly. Using the AWS Backup CLI, you can schedule snapshot backups as frequently as hourly.
If you select weekly, you can specify which days of the week you want backups to be taken. If you select monthly, you can choose a specific day of the month.
You can also check the Enable continuous backups for supported resources checkbox to create a point-in-time restore (PITR)-enabled continuous backup rule. Unlike snapshot backups, continuous backups allow you to perform point-in-time restore. To learn more about continuous backups, see Point-in-Time Recovery.
Backup window
Backup windows consist of the time that the backup window begins and the duration of the window in hours. Backup jobs are started within this window. The default settings in the console are:
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12:30 AM local to your system’s timezone (0:30 in 24-hour systems)
Start within 8 hours
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Complete within 7 days
(complete within parameter does not apply to Amazon FSx resources)
You can customize the backup frequency and backup window start time using a cron
expression. To see the six fields of AWS cron expressions, see Cron
Expressions in
the Amazon CloudWatch Events User Guide. Two examples of AWS cron expressions are
15 * ? * * * (take a backup every hour at 15 minutes past the hour) and
0 12 * * ? * (take a backup every day at 12 noon UTC). For a table of
examples, click the preceding link and scroll down the page.
AWS Backup evaluates cron expressions between 00:00 and 23:59. If you create a backup rule for "every 12 hours" but provide a start time of later than 11:59, it will only run once per day.
Continuous backups and point-in-time restore (PITR) reference the changes recorded over a period of time; therefore, they cannot be scheduled with a time or cron expression.
Note
In general, AWS database services cannot start backups 1 hour before or during their maintenance window and Amazon FSx cannot start backups 4 hours before or during their maintenance window or automatic backup window (Amazon Aurora is exempt from this maintenance window restriction). Snapshot backups scheduled during those times will fail.
An exception occurs when you opt in to using AWS Backup for both snapshot and continuous backups for a supported service. AWS Backup will schedule backup windows automatically to avoid conflicts. See Point-in-Time Recovery for a list of supported services and instructions on how to use AWS Backup to take continuous backups.
Overlapping backup rules
On occasion, a backup plan might contain multiple, overlapping rules. When the start windows of different rules overlap, AWS Backup retains the backup under the rule with the longer retention period. For example, consider a backup plan with two rules:
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Backup hourly, with a 1-hour start window, and retain for 1 day.
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Backup every 12 hours, with an 8-hour start window, and retain for 1 week.
After 24 hours, the second rule creates two backups (because it has the longer retention period). The first rule creates eight backups (because the second rule's 8-hour start window prevented more hourly backups from running). Specifically:
| During this Start Window | This Rule Creates 1 Backup |
|---|---|
| Midnight to 8AM | 12 hours |
| 8 to 9 | Hourly |
| 9 to 10 | Hourly |
| 10 to 11 | Hourly |
| 11 to Noon | Hourly |
| Noon to 8PM | 12 hours |
| 8 to 9 | Hourly |
| 9 to 10 | Hourly |
| 10 to 11 | Hourly |
| 11 to Midnight | Hourly |
During the start window, the backup job status remains in CREATED status until it
has successfully begun or until the start window time has run out. If within the start
window time AWS Backup receives an error that allows the job to be retried,
AWS Backup will automatically retry to begin the job at least every 10 minutes
until the backup
successfully begins (the job status changes to RUNNING) or until the job status
changes to EXPIRED (which is expected to occur when the start window time is over).
Lifecycle and storage tiers
Backups are stored for the number of days you specify, known as the backup lifecycle. Backups can be restored until the end of their lifecycle.
This is set as the total retention period in the lifecycle section of backup rule configuration in the AWS Backup console.
If you use AWS CLI, this is set
using the parameter DeleteAfterDays. The retention period for snapshots can range
between 1 day and 100 years (or indefinitely if you don't enter one), while the
retention period for continuous backups can range from 1 day to 35 days. The
creation date of a backup is the date the backup job started, not the date it completed.
If your backup job doesn't complete on the same date it started, use the date on which
it began to help calculate retention periods.
Backups are maintained in a storage tier. Each tier incurs a different cost for
storage and for restore, as outlined by AWS Backup pricing
Cold storage is currently available for the following resource types:
| Resource type | Incremental or Full backup in cold storage |
|---|---|
AWS CloudFormation |
Incremental |
DynamoDB with advanced features |
Full; no Incremental backups in any tier |
Amazon EBS (using EBS Snapshot Archive) |
Full; Incremental backups will become Full after transition. |
Amazon EFS |
Incremental |
SAP HANA databases running on Amazon EC2 instances |
Incremental |
Amazon Timestream |
Incremental |
VMware virtual machines |
Incremental |
Once you have enabled transition to cold storage through the console or command line, the following conditions are true for backups in cold storage (or archive):
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Backups transitioned must be stored in cold storage for a minimum of 90 days, in addition to the time in warm storage. AWS Backup requires the retention to be set for 90 days longer than the “transition to cold after days” setting. You can't change the “transition to cold after days” setting after a backup has been transitioned to cold.
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Some services support incremental backups. For incremental backups, you must have at least one warm full backup. AWS Backup recommends that you set your lifecycle settings to not move your backup to cold storage until after at least 8 days. If the full backup is transitioned to cold storage too soon (for example, a transition to cold storage after 1 day), AWS Backup will create another warm full backup.
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For resource types that support incremental backups, AWS Backup transitions data from warm to cold storage if the transitioned data is no longer referenced by warm backups. Data in backups retained in cold storage that is only referenced by other cold backups is billed at cold storage tier prices. Other backups continue at warm storage tier pricing.
Backup vault
A backup vault is a container to organize your backups in. Backups created by a backup rule are organized in the backup vault that you specify in the backup rule. You can use backup vaults to set the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) encryption key that is used to encrypt backups in the backup vault and to control access to the backups in the backup vault. You can also add tags to backup vaults to help you organize them. If you don't want to use the default vault, you can create your own. For step-by-step instructions for creating a backup vault, see Backup vault creation and deletion.
Copy to Regions
As part of your backup plan, you can optionally create a backup copy in another AWS Region. For more information about backup copies, see Creating backup copies across AWS Regions.
When you define a backup copy, you configure the following options:
Destination Region
The destination Region for the backup copy.
(Advanced Settings) Backup vault
The destination backup vault for the copy.
(Advanced Settings) IAM Role
The IAM role that AWS Backup uses when creating the copy. The role must also have AWS Backup listed as a trusted entity, which enables AWS Backup to assume the role. If you choose Default and the AWS Backup default role is not present in your account, a role is created for you with the correct permissions.
(Advanced Settings) Lifecycle
Specifies when to transition the backup copy to cold storage and when to expire (delete) the copy. Backups transitioned to cold storage must be stored in cold storage for a minimum of 90 days. You can't change this value after a copy has transitioned to cold storage.
Expire specifies the number of days after creation that the copy is deleted. This must be greater than 90 days beyond the Transition to cold storage value.
Tags added to recovery points
The tags that you list here are automatically added to backups when they are created.
Tags added to backup plans
These tags are associated with the backup plan itself to help you organize and track your backup plan.
Advanced backup settings
Enables application consistent backups for third-party applications that are running on Amazon EC2 instances. Currently, AWS Backup supports Windows VSS backups. AWS Backup excludes specific Amazon EC2 instance types from Windows VSS backups. For more information, see Create Windows VSS backups.
