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Backups

The whitesky.cloud BV Backups feature makes it easy to export virtual machines (VMs) to cloud storage near the IAAS system where they are running. It uses Restic to manage backups and S3-compatible storage to store them.

To set up backups, you need to configure two key components: a backup target and a backup policy.

  • A backup target is the storage location where your backups will be saved. This could be an S3-compatible storage system that ensures your data is safe, accessible.
  • A backup policy defines the rules for when and how backups are created, retained, and managed. This includes scheduling, retention periods, and handling backup failures.

The Restic tool plays a crucial role in managing backups. It minimizes storage usage through deduplication, ensures data security with encryption, and verifies the integrity of your backups.

To Create a New Backup Target

  1. On the left side of the page, in the navigation drawer under the Cloud Admin subgroup, click Backups.
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  2. Open the TARGETS tab. Then, click ADD BACKUP TARGET on the top bar.
  3. Enter the S3 configuration details. More details can be found in the S3 Backup Guide.
  4. Provide a name for the backup target and set a Restic password, which will be used to manage Restic.
  5. Click SUBMIT.

Important: Always securely store your Restic password. Losing this password will result in permanent loss of access to your backups.

Assign a Location to a Backup Target

To start backing up virtual machines (VMs) in a specific location, you need to link the location to a backup target.

  1. Go to the backup target's details page and click SUBSCRIBE LOCATION at the top.

  2. Choose the location you want to associate with the backup target.

  3. Once you've selected the location, pick a cloudspace that will be used to manage and access the backups by the target.

  4. Click SUBMIT.

Backup Policy defines how backups are scheduled, retained, and managed.

To Create a New Backup Policy

  1. On the left side of the page, in the navigation drawer under the Cloud Admin subgroup, click Backups.

  2. Open the POLICIES tab. Then, click ADD BACKUP POLICY on the top bar.

  3. Configure the Snapshot Policy:

  4. Cooperative Mode (cooperative): Enable or disable cooperative backup mode.

  5. Cooperative Timeout (cooperative_timeout): Set the timeout duration for cooperative backups.
  6. Failure Behavior (cooperative_failure_behaviour): Choose the action to take on failure (e.g., FAIL).
  7. Timeout (timeout): Set the overall backup process timeout.
  8. Retry Pause (retry_pause): Define the wait time between retry attempts.

  9. Retry Times (retry_times): Specify how many times the backup should retry on failure.

  10. Configure frequency & retention policy:

  11. Schedule (cron): Define the backup frequency using a cron expression. (You can either enter a custom cron expression or choose a frequency from a dropdown list)

  12. Retention Flags (restic_retention_flags): Specify Restic retention rules for managing old backups. (You can either enter a custom restic retention flags expression or choose a retention frequency from a dropdown list) For more details: Restic Retention Flags Guide.

  13. Failure Report Email (failure_report_email): Provide an email address to receive failure notifications.

  14. Provide a name for the policy.

  15. Click ADD POLICY.

Backup Settings

Backup Settings determine how backup policies and targets are managed for each location on whitesky.cloud BV.

Cloud Admin Controls

The Cloud Admin has the ability to configure the following settings for each location:

  • Customer Permissions: Decide whether customers are allowed to define their own backup policies and targets. If disabled, only the Cloud Admin can create and manage backup policies and targets.
  • Mandatory Backup Policies: Enforce a rule requiring all newly created VMs in this location to have at least one backup policy assigned at the time of creation.