After you back up an ECS instance, you can restore it, clone a new instance, or create a new instance across availability zones. Compare Cloud Backup’s ECS instance backup with the snapshot service to choose the right approach.
Do not use both Cloud Backup ECS instance backup and the disk snapshot service on the same cloud disk. Snapshot execution times conflict. Choose one method based on the differences below.
Snapshot service
Alibaba Cloud Snapshot Service is an agentless backup solution that creates crash-consistent snapshots for all cloud disk types. Use snapshots to back up or restore entire cloud disks for data backup, image creation, and application disaster recovery. Snapshot overview.
ECS instance backup
ECS instance backup is a data management service from Cloud Backup, built on the snapshot service. It offers automated backup policies, intuitive recovery, and operations such as cloning and disaster recovery. It manages data at the instance level rather than per disk, simplifying protection and enabling scenarios like dev/test setup and low-cost geo-disaster recovery. ECS instance backup overview, Back up an ECS instance.
Back up an ECS instance, then restore it, clone it to a new instance, or clone individual disks.
The management page has a backup instance list and a backup history timeline. The instance list shows backup objects, plans, job status, and recovery points, and supports manual backup, automatic backup, recovery, and cloning. The history section has two tabs: Instance backup history and Disk backup history. Click a recovery point to view creation time, TTL, protected disks, and consistency setting, then perform recovery, cloning, or deletion. Plan management supports run plan now, edit plan, and delete plan.
Key differences
ECS instance backup covers most snapshot service capabilities. It adds an ECS-centric operational model, automatic disk discovery and tracking, and flexible recovery and cloning at the instance or disk level.
Use ECS instance backup for batch or geo-redundant backups at the ECS level, or to quickly set up and replicate test and development environments.
|
Comparison item |
Snapshot service |
Instance backup |
|
Cost |
Snapshot fees. Snapshot billing. |
|
|
Implementation |
Based on snapshot technology. Snapshot overview, Snapshot principles. |
Orchestrates snapshot service APIs: cloud disk snapshots, consistent snapshot groups, and cross-region replication. Snapshot service API. |
|
Protected object |
Cloud disk. Does not support local disks. |
ECS instance. Supports bulk selection and per-instance disk configuration. Does not support local disks. |
|
Group backup |
Supports only ESSD cloud disks. |
Supports all cloud disks of an ECS instance. If all disks are ESSD, Cloud Backup automatically creates a consistent backup group. Otherwise, snapshots are created simultaneously with per-disk crash consistency only. |
|
Tracking method |
None |
In full-disk mode, automatically tracks disks added or removed after the initial backup. |
|
Recovery method |
Cloud disk or image |
Full instance rollback, cloning (including cross-region), and per-disk recovery or cloning. |
|
Management approach |
Manages snapshots from a cloud disk perspective in a table view. |
Manages backup policies from an ECS instance perspective with graphical backup history and intuitive recovery and cloning. |
|
Snapshot visibility |
Shows all snapshots, including those created by Cloud Backup. |
Shows only snapshots created through Cloud Backup. |
|
Snapshot limit (per cloud disk) |
256 manual and 1,000 automatic snapshots. Snapshot limits. |
256 snapshots only. Other limits match the snapshot service. Snapshot limits. |
References
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Cloud Backup offers resource plans for various backup scenarios at lower cost. Resource plan purchase guide.
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Cloud Backup supports backing up directories and files on ECS instances with anytime restore. Back up ECS files.
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Cloud Backup supports backing up local server files to the cloud with anytime restore. Back up local files.