# Creating a Backup Policy

A backup policy allows a vault to automatically execute backup tasks at specified times or intervals. Periodic backups can be used to restore data quickly against data corruption or loss.

To implement periodic backup, you need to create a backup policy first. CBR will then periodically perform backups according to the execution time specified in the backup policy. You can choose to use the default backup policy provided by CBR or create one as needed.

You can apply backup policies to server backup vaults and disk backup vaults.

#### Background Information

- After a backup policy is enabled, CBR automatically backs up resources associated with the vaults that have been associated with the policy and periodically deletes expired backups.
- Each account can create a maximum of 32 backup policies.
- When expired backups are cleared based on a policy's retention rules, only automatic backups will be deleted. Manual backup will not be deleted.
- Only servers in the Running or Stopped state can be backed up.
- Only disks in the Available or In-use state can be backed up.

#### Procedure

1. Log in to CBR Console.

   1. Log in to the management console.
   2. Click in the upper left corner and select your region and project.
   3. Choose Storage > Cloud Backup and Recovery. Select a backup tab from the left navigation pane.
2. Choose Policies and click the Backup Policies tab. In the upper right corner, click Create Policy. See Figure 1.

   Figure 1 Creating a backup policy

3. Set the backup policy parameters. Table 1 describes the parameters.

   Table 1 Backup policy parameter description
   Parameter | Description | Example Value
   --- | --- | ---
   Type | Select a policy type. This section uses creating a backup policy as an example. | Backup policy
   Name | Backup policy name A name must contain 1 to 64 characters including digits, letters, underscores (_), or hyphens (-). | backup_policy
   Status | Whether to enable the backup policy. | Only after a backup policy is enabled will CBR automatically backs up servers and disks associated with the vaults applied with the policy and deletes expired backups.

   Execution Time

   Execution time

   Backups can be scheduled at the beginning of each hour. Multiple selections are supported.

   NOTICE:

   If you want to back up a large amount of data, you are advised to set a less frequent backup schedule. If a backup task takes longer than the backup interval, the system will skip the next backup execution time.

   For example, as scheduled in a backup policy, a disk needs to be backed up at 00:00, 01:00, and 02:00. At 00:00, the disk starts being backed up. Because the high-volume incremental data needs to be backed up or a heap of backup tasks are executed at the same time, this backup task takes 90 minutes and completes at 01:30. In this case, the system performs the next backup at 02:00. Therefore, only two backups will be generated in total, one at 00:00, and the other at 02:00.

   00:00, 02:00

   It is recommended that backups be performed during off-peak hours or when there are no services running.

   Backup Cycle

   Dates for performing backups
   - Week-based cycle

     Specifies on which days of each week the backup task will be executed. You can select multiple days.

   - Custom cycle

     Specifies the interval (every 1 to 30 days) for executing the backup task.

   Every day

   If you select day-based backup, the first backup time is supposed to be on the day the backup policy is created. If the creation time of the backup policy is later than the latest execution time, the initial backup will be performed in the next backup cycle.

   It is recommended that backups be performed during off-peak hours or when there are no services running.

   Retention Rule

   Rule that specifies how backups will be retained
   - Time period

     You can choose to retain backups for one month, three months, six months, one year, or for any desired number (2 to 99999) of days.

   - Backup quantity

     You can set the maximum number of cloud server backups to retain for one cloud server. The value ranges from 2 to 99999.

   - You can also set long-term retention rules with advanced options. Long-term retention rules and quantity-based retention rules do not conflict. They will both be applied.

     - Day-based: The value ranges from 0 to 100.
     - Weekly: The value ranges from 0 to 100.
     - Monthly: The value ranges from 0 to 100.
     - Yearly: The value ranges from 0 to 100.

     For example, day-based advanced option retains the most recent backup by day. If a disk is backed up for multiple times in a day, only the most recent backup of that day is retained. If you set the value to 5, the system keeps the most recent backup from each of the last five days that have backups generated. If there are more than five backup files, the system automatically deletes the earliest backups. If the day-based, weekly, monthly, and yearly advanced options are all configured, the union backups are selected for retention. For example, if the number of retained day-based backups is set to 5 and the number of retained weekly backups is set to 1, five backups will be retained. The long-term retention rule and the quantity-based retention rule can be effective at the same time.

   - Permanent
     NOTE:
     - When the number of retained backups exceeds the preset value, the system automatically deletes the earliest backups. When the retention periods of retained backups exceed the preset value, the system automatically deletes all expired backups. By default, the system automatically clears data every other day. The deleted backup does not affect other backups for restoration.
     - This parameter applies only to backups generated based on a scheduled backup policy. Manual backups are not affected by this parameter and will not be automatically deleted. You can manually delete them from the backup list.
     - After a backup is used to create an image, the backup will not be counted as a retained backup and will not be deleted automatically.
     - A maximum of 10 backups are retained for failed periodic backup tasks. They are retained for one month and can be manually deleted.

   6 months

   More frequent backup intervals create more backups or retain backups for a longer time, protecting data to a greater extent but occupying more storage space. Set an appropriate backup cycle as needed.

4. Click OK.
5. Locate the desired vault and choose More > Apply Backup Policy to apply the created policy to the vault. You can view the applied policy on the vault details page.

   After the policy is applied, data is periodically backed up to the vault based on the policy.

#### Example

A user has a vault associated with one disk. At 10:00 a.m. on Monday, the user sets a backup policy for the vault, that is, executing a backup task at 02:00 a.m. every day and retaining a maximum of three backups. At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, three backups are retained, which are generated on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The backup generated at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday has been automatically deleted.

Parent topic: Policy Management