ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server supports both automated and manual backups. You can configure a backup policy to automatically back up your data and logs. You can also create manual backups on demand. If log backups are enabled, you can restore your instance to any point in time within the retention period.
Backup features
Data backup
ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server provides two backup methods: physical backup and snapshot backup. For more information, see Differences between snapshot backups and physical backups.
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Backup method |
Description |
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Physical backup |
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Snapshot backup |
A snapshot backup periodically creates full snapshot backups within the specified backup cycle. Compared with conventional physical backups, a snapshot backup is faster and has minimal impact on instance performance. |
Log backup
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The system automatically generates log backup files. You can set the generation frequency to Every 30 Minutes, Every 5 Minutes, or Same as Data Backup.
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The frequency does not affect the total size of the log files.
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In Snapshot Backup mode, the log backup frequency can be set only to Every 30 Minutes or Every 5 Minutes.
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In the Full recovery model (the default recovery model for an instance), log backup is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. You can set the log backup retention period to 7-730 days.
ImportantIf you do not need to retain instance log backups, you can set the recovery model to the Simple recovery model. After you make this change, you cannot switch back to the Full recovery model. The Simple recovery model does not retain instance log backups, but data backups are not affected.
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You can download log backup files.
NoteFor ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server Basic Edition instances with a log backup frequency of every 30 or 5 minutes, in extreme cases such as a complete failure of the underlying cloud disk, the instance can be restored only to the time of the most recent log backup from that interval.
Backup data protection
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Tamper-proofing
Full physical backups and log backups for ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server are stored in OSS, and full snapshot backups are stored in the ESSD snapshot service. Both storage methods support Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) to prevent tampering.
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Protection against malicious or accidental deletion
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Automatic expiration and deletion: The system automatically deletes expired backup sets based on the retention period that you configure in the backup policy. Automated backups cannot be disabled, the minimum retention period is 7 days, and the minimum backup frequency is twice per week. Therefore, automated full and log backups cannot be completely deleted.
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Manual deletion by users: You cannot manually delete backup data.
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Prerequisites
If this is your first time using the ApsaraDB RDS backup service, you must use your Alibaba Cloud account to grant permissions to the service-linked role for DBS (AliyunServiceRoleForDBS).
Usage notes
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After you modify the backup time, a backup task may be triggered after two minutes. This can cause high I/O bandwidth usage on your primary instance and affect your workloads. We recommend that you change the backup time during off-peak hours to minimize the performance impact.
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A physical backup for SQL Server consumes significant I/O and CPU resources on the instance, which can affect your applications. We recommend that you perform physical backups during off-peak hours.
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If the data volume is large, the backup may take a long time to complete.
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If the archive to OSS feature is enabled for an instance and a database is converted to cold storage, you cannot back up or restore the cold storage database.
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Backup files are retained for a limited period. To avoid data loss due to expiration, download the backup files that you want to retain long-term to your computer.
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The instance collects traffic data from the network interface controller (NIC) to reflect the network bandwidth usage of SQL Server. Because backup traffic is included in the statistics, network traffic spikes during data backups.
Billing
Each instance comes with a free backup storage quota. You are not charged for backup storage as long as the total usage is within your free quota. If the quota is exceeded, backup storage fees apply. For more information, see Free Quota and Billing Details.
Configure an automatic backup policy
ApsaraDB RDS provides an automated backup feature that periodically backs up your databases based on your specified backup policy. For instances in some regions, you can upgrade the backup policy page to the advanced version. If an upgrade option is not available, submit an application to request access. The advanced version allows you to implement sparse backup. After the upgrade, the entry point for configuring the backup policy and some parameters may differ. Choose the configuration method that matches your console.
Standard backup policy
Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.
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In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.
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On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab. In the Data Backup Settings area, click Edit.
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Configure the following parameters and click Save.
Parameter
Description
Data Backup Retention (Days)
The default value is 7 days. You can set a value from 7 to 730 days.
Backup Cycle
Select at least two days of the week for data backups.
Backup Method
ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server supports the following two backup methods:
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Snapshot backup: a backup file that captures the state of a cloud disk at a specific point in time. This method is fast.
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Physical Backup: the default backup method for an instance. This method creates a copy of the target data and is relatively slow.
ImportantAfter you switch to Snapshot Backup, you can still select Physical Backup when you perform a manual backup.
Backup Priority
For Cluster Edition instances that use the Physical Backup method, you can set the backup priority:
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Primary Instance Only: specifies that backups are performed only on the primary instance.
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Secondary Instance Preferred: specifies that backups are performed on the secondary instance to reduce I/O load on the primary instance and improve instance performance and stability. If the secondary instance does not meet backup requirements, such as being unavailable, the backup is switched to the primary instance.
NoteThis feature is available only for Cluster Edition instances. If you set the backup priority to the secondary instance, incremental backup and 5-minute log backups are not supported.
Incremental Backup
Specifies whether to enable incremental backup.
NoteYou cannot configure incremental backups if the Backup Method is Snapshot Backup, or if the backup method for a Cluster Edition instance is Physical Backup.
Backup Time
Select the time range when data backups start, for example, 06:00-07:00. We recommend that you set this to off-peak hours.
Backup Frequency
You can set the frequency at which log files are generated. Options: Same as Data Backup, Every 30 Minutes, or Every 5 Minutes.
Important-
The log backup retention period is the same as the data backup retention period and cannot be configured separately.
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If the backup priority is set to the secondary instance, 5-minute log backups are not supported.
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Advanced backup policy
Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.
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In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.
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On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab. Then, click the circled number between SQL Server and Level-1 Backup.
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Configure the following parameters and click OK.
Parameter
Description
Backup Policy
Select the backup time and backup set retention period. You must configure at least two backups per week.
NoteYou can click Add backup policy to add a sparse backup policy. This allows for more flexible backup scheduling while retaining fewer backup sets.
Backup Time
Select the time when data backups start, for example, 07:00-08:00. We recommend that you set this to off-peak hours.
Incremental Backup
Specifies whether to enable incremental backup.
NoteYou cannot enable incremental backup if the Backup Method is Snapshot Backup.
Backup Method
ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server supports the following two backup methods:
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Snapshot backup: a backup file that captures the state of a cloud disk at a specific point in time. This method is fast.
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Physical Backup: the default backup method for an instance. This method creates a copy of the target data and is relatively slow.
ImportantAfter you switch to Snapshot Backup, you can still select Physical Backup when you perform a manual backup.
Backup Frequency
You can set the frequency at which log files are generated. Options: Same as Data Backup or Every 30 Minutes.
NoteThe log backup retention period is the same as the data backup retention period and cannot be configured separately.
Log Backup Retention Period
Cannot exceed the data backup retention period. You can set a value from 7 to 7,300 days. The default value is 7 days.
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In the lower-left corner of the Backup Strategy page, click Save.
Create a manual backup
Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.
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In the upper-right corner of the page, click Backup Instance to open the Backup Instance dialog box.
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Configure the following parameters and click OK.
Parameter
Description
Backup Policy
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Snapshot backup: a backup file that captures the state of a cloud disk at a specific point in time. This method is fast.
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Physical Backup: the default backup method for an instance. This method creates a copy of the target data and is relatively slow.
NoteThe Snapshot Backup option is displayed only if the automatic backup policy is set to Snapshot Backup.
Select Backup Mode
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Full Backup: immediately performs a full backup.
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Automatic Backup: immediately performs a backup. The system determines whether to perform a full or differential backup based on predefined rules.
Rule: If a full backup was performed within the last three days, the system performs a differential backup, which backs up all data that has changed since the last full backup. Otherwise, a full backup is performed.
NoteFor instances of Cluster Edition, if the automatic backup policy is set to Physical Backup and the backup priority is set to Prioritize backup from secondary instance, only Full Backup is supported.
Backup Policy
This parameter is available only when Select Backup Mode is set to Full Backup.
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Instance Backup: backs up the entire instance.
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Single-Database Backup: available only when Backup Policy is set to Physical Backup. You can configure the retention period for the backup set and specify the databases to back up:
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Backup Set Retention Days: You can specify a value from 7 to 730, or -1 for long-term retention.
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Database: In the left-side list, select the databases to back up and click the
icon to add them to the right-side list. If you do not have any databases, create a database first.
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After you configure a backup policy, a backup task is created. You can click the
icon in the upper-right corner of the page. On the Tasks page, set the Task Type parameter to Manual Backup and view the progress of the backup task. 
NoteAfter the backup is complete, go to the Backup and Restoration > Base Backups > Data Backup or Log Backup page to download data and log backups.
Related operations
Extend expiration for single-database backups
You can use the ApsaraDB RDS console or the ModifyBackupSetExpireTime API to extend the expiration time of a full, physical, single-database manual backup set. Shortening the expiration time is not supported.
When you use the API to extend the expiration time of a backup set, you must provide a time in UTC. The ApsaraDB RDS console automatically converts this time to Beijing time (UTC+8) for display. For example:
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If you provide the time
2025-07-15T12:10:23Zto the API, the ApsaraDB RDS console displays it as2025-07-15 20:10:23. -
Conversely, if you want to set the expiration time to a specific Beijing time, you must convert it to the corresponding UTC time before providing it to the API.
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In the Actions column of the target backup set, click the
icon and select Change Expiration Time.
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In the dialog box that appears, set a new expiration time and click OK.
After the change is complete, you can view the new expiration time in the Expiration Time column of the target backup set. The system retains the backup set until the new expiration time.
Related documents
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You can download existing data or log backups to your computer for archiving and other purposes.
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You can use data backups and log backups to restore data to an existing instance, a new instance, or a self-managed database. For more information, see Overview of restoration solutions.
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This topic describes the default backup feature, which stores backup files in the same region as the instance. To back up data to another region, see cross-region backup.
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You can also use APIs to manage backup policies for ApsaraDB RDS instances: