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# Enable backups

> Turn on automated backups for a Cloud VM and choose a daily or weekly schedule.

Automated backups capture the root disk and all attached persistent data volumes on a schedule. Once enabled, recovery points appear in the **Backup Recovery Points** list and can be restored in place, used to create a new VM, or rolled back per-disk.

## Steps

### 1. Open Backups

On the server detail page, open the **Backups** tab.

### 2. Enable Automated Backups

Toggle **Automated Backups** to **Enabled**. Backups start on a default **Daily** schedule at **12:00** in your browser's local time zone, and the schedule controls become editable. Recovery points are kept for **7 days**.

### 3. Pick a frequency

Use the **Schedule backups** dropdown:

* **Daily** — runs every day at the chosen time.
* **Weekly** — runs once per week on the chosen day.

### 4. Pick the day (Weekly only)

If you chose **Weekly**, pick a day under **On**: Sunday through Saturday.

### 5. Pick the time

Use the **At** dropdown to choose an hourly slot — `00:00`, `01:00`, … `23:00`. Times are in your browser's local time zone, and the schedule is saved with that time zone.

Pick a window of low workload activity. Backups run online (the VM stays up) but I/O is briefly busier; pick a time outside peak hours.

### 6. Wait for save

Schedule changes save automatically. A **Saving…** indicator confirms the change has been persisted; once it returns to idle, the schedule is active.

## Verify the schedule

The fields you saved remain visible at the top of the Backups tab. The next backup runs at the next matching slot — for example, a Weekly + Sunday + 12:00 schedule saved on Tuesday will first run the following Sunday at 12:00 in the time zone it was saved with.

The first run produces a recovery point in **Backup Recovery Points**:

* Name like `srp-20260509T162709Z`
* Disks: `Root + N data disk(s)`
* Storage: total recovery footprint (for example `60 GB`)

## Disable backups

To stop scheduled backups for a VM, toggle **Automated Backups** to **Disabled**. Existing recovery points are retained according to the retention policy and can still be restored — only the schedule is paused.

## What gets captured

Backups always capture:

* The root disk.
* Every persistent data volume attached at the time the schedule runs.

If you attach a new volume midway through a week, it's included starting from the next scheduled run. If you detach a volume before a run, that volume is not in subsequent recovery points.

## Best practices

* **Pick a low-traffic window.** The **At** time is in your browser's local time zone — if your servers serve users in another time zone, convert before choosing.
* **Use weekly + selective snapshots** if daily storage cost is a concern — cover routine protection with weekly backups, take manual [snapshots](/docs/tools/snapshots) before risky changes.
* **Test restore before you need it.** Use **Create New VM** restore mode periodically to confirm your recovery points are usable.
* **Keep separate copies of critical data.** Automated backups protect a single VM and live in the same location as the VM; for extra resilience, also copy critical data to [Object Storage](/docs/infrastructure/object-storage).

## Related pages

* [VM backups overview](/docs/tools/backups)
* [Restore from backup](/docs/tools/backups/restore-from-backup)
* [Backup pricing](/docs/tools/backups/backup-pricing)
* [Snapshots](/docs/tools/snapshots)