Backups
The Backups tab on the cluster detail page lets you create, schedule and manage backups of Persistent Volumes (PV) and Virtual Machines (VM).
Related: Kubernetes
Tab layout
The Backups tab is split into two targets.
| Main tab | Target |
|---|---|
| PV Volumes | Data backups per PVC (PersistentVolumeClaim) |
| Virtual Machines | Per-VM backups |
Each target is further split into Backups (completed list + manual create) and Schedules (recurring runs).
Payment: Using PV backups requires a registered payment method. If none is registered, a prompt to add one is shown.
PV backups
Backs up the data inside a PVC to Kubo-managed object storage (S3-compatible).
Manual backup
- Open the Backups tab → PV Volumes → Backups
- Choose the target PVC / namespace from Create backup and run it
- The list shows the status (running / completed / failed) and size. For failures, hover over the status to see the error details (also recorded as the failure reason on the Background Jobs screen)
List columns: PVC name / Namespace / Status / Size / Started / Completed.
Restore & delete
- Restore: revert the data to the state captured by a backup.
- Delete: remove backups you no longer need.
Schedules (recurring backups)
Use Schedules to back up a PVC automatically on a recurring basis.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| cron | Run interval (a preset or a custom cron expression) |
| Retention | Number of generations to keep; older backups beyond it are pruned automatically |
| Enabled | Turn the schedule on / off |
| Next / Last run | Scheduled next run and last run time |
cron presets: Daily at 2 AM / every 6 hours / every 12 hours / Mon & Thu at 3 AM / weekly (Sunday night) / custom.
Runs in the background: Manual and scheduled backups are processed as background jobs; track progress and results on the Background Jobs screen.
VM backups
Per-VM backups. Create and manage them from Virtual Machines under the Backups tab, or from the VM details panel on the Virtual Machines tab.
Creating a backup
- Go to the cluster details page and open the "Virtual Machines" tab
- Click on a VM to open the VM details panel on the right
- Click the "Manage" button in the "Backups" section
- Click the "Create Backup" button
Backup settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Storage | Where to store the backup. Only backup-enabled storages are available |
| Compression | Compression method for the backup file |
| Backup Mode | How the VM is handled during backup |
| Notes | Optional description for the backup |
| Wait for completion | If ON, waits for backup to finish and shows the result |
Note: Only storages with the backup content type enabled are shown in the selection. The
localstorage may not support backups.
Storage types
| Storage | Description |
|---|---|
| cephfs | Distributed storage. Data is spread across multiple nodes for high redundancy (recommended) |
Default storage is
cephfs. Internal admin-only storages (e.g.backup_tpl) are not shown in the user-facing picker.
Compression methods
| Method | Speed | Ratio | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZSTD | Fast | High | Recommended (default) |
| LZO | Fastest | Lower | When speed is priority |
| GZIP | Slow | High | When compatibility matters |
| None | - | - | No compression needed |
Backup modes
| Mode | Downtime | Consistency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snapshot | None | Filesystem level | Regular production backups (recommended) |
| Suspend | Seconds | Including memory | When stronger consistency is needed |
| Stop | VM stopped | Full | During maintenance |
Recommended: Use Snapshot mode for regular backups. It creates backups without stopping the VM and has no impact on services.
Scheduled backups
Enable "Schedule recurring backups" when creating a backup, or configure it from the Schedule tab in the Backup Manager. Schedules run automatically at the configured time.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Daily, Twice Daily, or Weekly |
| Time | Hour to run the backup (0:00 - 23:00). Set in UTC |
| Day | Day of week (for Weekly frequency) |
| Retention Policy | How long to keep backups |
About time: Schedule times are set in UTC (not local time). e.g. to run at 09:00 JST, set 00:00 UTC.
Retention policies
| Policy | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily (7 days) | Keep 7 days of daily backups (default) |
| Weekly (4 weeks) | Keep 4 weeks of weekly backups |
| Monthly (12 months) | Keep 12 months of monthly backups |
| Enterprise | Combination: 7 daily + 4 weekly + 12 monthly |
The legacy Continuous ("keep all") option has been removed because unlimited retention can unexpectedly consume storage. Existing schedules that still use Continuous are preselected to Daily (7 days) when the edit dialog opens — saving without changing it shortens the effective retention window, so review carefully.
Backup Manager
Open the Backup Manager from the "Manage" button in the VM details panel.
- Backup Files tab: list (name / date / size / storage), delete (successful backups only), create new
- Schedule tab: view current schedule (cron expression / storage / retention policy / mode / compression), edit, delete
Note: Failed backups do not have a delete button, as no file exists on storage.
Important notes
- Deleting a backup file cannot be undone
- Large VMs may take significant time to back up
- Disabling "Wait for completion" runs the backup in the background
- Using Stop mode temporarily stops the VM, affecting services
- Schedule times are in UTC (UTC + 9h = JST; UTC 00:00 = JST 09:00)