Virtual Machine Backup Policies

Before We Begin

It may be beneficial to read about backup policies on Katapult.

In This Guide

What is a virtual machine backup policy

A virtual machine backup policy effectively defines a single backup policy for all system disks associated with it and so setting a once per day policy at 12am will see all disks on the machine backed up at 12am. It is also possible for you to define backup policies at the disk level too should you wish to backup a single disk more frequently - see System Disk Backup Policies for more information.

Create a new virtual machine level backup policy

  1. Select Compute -> Virtual machines from the sidebar
  2. Select the virtual machine you wish to create a backup policy for
  3. Select Disk backup policies from the Actions sidebar
  4. Click the Add new disk backup policy button
  5. Define the number of backups to retain for this policy and the backup interval
  6. Select the relevant properties for your selected interval
  7. Click the Create disk backup policy button

The virtual machine level disk backup policy will now be created. Note that this type of backup policy does not include Shared Disks. To backup a shared disk you must specify a backup policy on that disk separately. See Shared Disk Backup Policies for more information.

Edit a virtual machine level backup policy

  1. Select Storage -> Disk backup policies from the sidebar
  2. Select the virtual machine level disk backup policy from the list (They will appear as the hostname, or virtual machine name)
  3. Click Edit backup policy from the Actions sidebar
  4. Make the required changes
  5. Click the Save button

The changes will apply on the next backup run.

Delete a virtual machine level backup policy

  1. Select Storage -> Disk backup policies from the sidebar
  2. Select the virtual machine level disk backup policy from the list (They will appear as the hostname, or virtual machine name)
  3. Click Delete backup policy from the Actions sidebar
  4. Confirm the action

The backup policy and associated backup data will then be moved to the deleted items within Katapult. It will be removed automatically after 48 hours. It can also be reinstated during that time if needs be.

Create an ad-hoc virtual machine level backup

To create an ad-hoc backup of all disks in your virtual machine, follow these steps:

  1. Select Storage -> Disk backup policies from the sidebar
  2. Select the virtual machine level disk backup policy from the list (They will appear as the hostname, or virtual machine name)
  3. Click Initiate backup now from the Actions sidebar

The backup will then initiate.

Restore a virtual machine level backup

As virtual machine level backups backs up each disk individually you are able to restore any one of those individual disks into a new disk. You can then do with this new disk as you wish, i.e. mount it to retrieve lost data, or alternatively use it as a replacement for a disk to effectively roll the disk state back in time. The choice is yours. To learn how to restore a disk backup into a new disk see our Backup Restoration how-to guide.