6 Best Practices for Cloud Server Backup and Recovery

With the widespread use of cloud servers, we must comprehend data backup of virtual instances in cloud servers. Cloud server architecture differs greatly from that of traditional local environments, necessitating the use of different data backup techniques. In this article, we will introduce you to six cloud server backup and recovery practices that we hope you will find useful.

Increase backup speed by using incremental backup

Many cloud servers provide incremental backup capabilities, allowing users to significantly speed up backups. Since the last backup, the system can track and record new data changes in all storage blocks on the cloud server. The cloud server provider’s backup application can query the changed information and back up only what has changed, avoiding duplicate updates and enabling more efficient and faster incremental backups.

Snapshot application

True cloud servers can take snapshots. Snapshots do not replicate the entire data set of a virtual machine. The differential disk is created by the hypervisor. After the differential disk is constructed, all write operations are directed to it. The virtual machine’s primary virtual hard disk remains unchanged, allowing the virtual machine to be rolled back to a previous point in time.

It is important to note, however, that snapshots consume additional disk space on the datastore. The more snapshots you run, the more the performance of all virtual machines running on the cloud server may suffer. Even though it is the most convenient method in the short term, virtual machine snapshots should not be used as the primary backup method.

Virtual machine backup at the virtualization layer

A backup agent is typically installed on the client operating system when backing up a traditional physical server. When the backup server is about to begin a backup operation, it contacts the agent. This method is inefficient in a cloud environment because it not only consumes VM resources but also has an impact on the performance of all other VMs on the cloud server. VMs are typically backed up at the virtualization layer by cloud server providers. This necessitates the use of specialized backup applications capable of performing large image-level backups. This ensures that your VMs have access to as many resources as possible for their workloads.

Backups should be copied to multiple storage locations.

Enterprise IT environments simply cannot afford to keep all of their data in the same place. In the event of an unexpected disaster, having at least one offsite copy should ensure that it is quickly available to resume production operations. Ideally, the cloud server copy should be kept in a separate physical location or on a different cloud server. Backups can be accessed from a secondary backup repository as long as the backup repository has a network connection.

Encryption of Backups

We want backup data to be completely secure. If someone gains access to unencrypted backup data, they may recover data and use the sensitive data in the backup for malicious purposes. Backups that are encrypted eliminate this security risk.

Test your recovery software on a regular basis.

Backing up your virtual machines on a regular basis is only the first step. However, it is critical to ensure that if you need to restore a cloud server from a backup, there is no backup corruption, etc. It is a good idea to test the backup integrity and the recovery software’s proper operation on a regular basis in a test environment.

How to choose a cloud backup solution?Cloud backups provide a cost-effective way to protect an organization’s business-critical data. They automate daily tasks and simplify data protection for large volumes of data. When configured correctly, cloud backups are not only a necessity, but also an asset to the business.

Vinchin Backup & Recovery allows you to restore the entire virtual machine and all of its data from any restore point (full, incremental or differential backup) without affecting the original backup data. Backups that have been deduplicated or compressed can be restored. This is a great solution for ensuring business continuity and minimizing critical business interruptions caused by a disaster or system failure.

You can also quickly check the availability of backup data by instantly restoring a target VM to a remote location in minutes. Ensure that in the event of a true disaster, all VMs can be recovered and the data they contain won’t be lost or corrupted. Vinchin offers solutions such as VMware backup for the world’s most popular virtual environments, XenServer backup, XCP-ng backup, Hyper-V backup, RHV/oVirt backup, Oracle backup, etc.