Restoring your AWS Managed Microsoft AD with snapshots

AWS Directory Service provides automated daily snapshots and the ability to take manual snapshots of data for your AWS Managed Microsoft AD Active Directory. These snapshots can be used to perform a point-in-time restore for your Active Directory. You are limited to five manual snapshots for each AWS Managed Microsoft AD Active Directory. If you have already reached this limit, you must delete one of your existing manual snapshots before you can create another. You cannot take snapshots of AD Connector directories.

Note

Snapshot is a global feature of AWS Managed Microsoft AD. If you are using Configure Multi-Region replication for AWS Managed Microsoft AD, the following procedures must be performed in the Primary Region. The changes will be applied across all replicated Regions automatically. For more information, see Global vs Regional features.

Creating a snapshot of your directory

A snapshot can be used to restore your directory to what it was at the point in time that the snapshot was taken. To create a manual snapshot of your directory, perform the following steps.

Note

You are limited to 5 manual snapshots for each directory. If you have already reached this limit, you must delete one of your existing manual snapshots before you can create another.

To create a manual snapshot

1. In the AWS Directory Service console navigation pane, select Directories.

2. On the Directories page, choose your directory ID.

3. On the Directory details page, choose the Maintenance tab.

4. In the Snapshots section, choose Actions, and then select Create snapshot.

5. In the Create directory snapshot dialog box, provide a name for the snapshot, if desired. When ready, choose Create.

Depending on the size of your directory, it may take several minutes to create the snapshot. When the snapshot is ready, the Status value changes to Completed.

Restoring your directory from a snapshot

Restoring a directory from a snapshot is equivalent to moving the directory back in time. Directory snapshots are unique to the directory they were created from. A snapshot can only be restored to the directory from which it was created. In addition, the maximum supported age of a manual snapshot is 180 days. For more information, see Useful shelf life of a system-state backup of Active Directory on the Microsoft website.

Warning

We recommend that you contact the AWS Support Center before any snapshot restore; we may be able to help you avoid the need to do a snapshot restore. Any restore from snapshot can result in data loss as they are a point in time. It is important you understand that all of the DCs and DNS servers associated with the directory will be offline until the restore operation has been completed.

To restore your directory from a snapshot, perform the following steps.

To restore a directory from a snapshot

1. In the AWS Directory Service console navigation pane, select Directories.

2. On the Directories page, choose your directory ID.

3. On the Directory details page, choose the Maintenance tab.

4. In the Snapshots section, select a snapshot in the list, choose Actions, and then select Restore snapshot.

5. Review the information in the Restore directory snapshot dialog box, and choose Restore.

For an AWS Managed Microsoft AD directory, it can take from two to three hours for the directory to be restored. When it has been successfully restored, the Status value of the directory changes to Active. Any changes made to the directory after the snapshot date are overwritten.

Deleting a snapshot

To delete a snapshot

1. In the AWS Directory Service console navigation pane, select Directories.

2. On the Directories page, choose your directory ID.

3. On the Directory details page, choose the Maintenance tab.

4. In the Snapshots section, choose Actions, and then select Delete snapshot.

5. Verify that you want to delete the snapshot, and then choose Delete.