Dear clients: the snapshot feature is experimental. The service is provided "as is" without any warranty. By using this feature you assume all possible risks; we will not consider any claims regarding how it works.

Q: Which plans is this service available for?

A: Snapshots are available only for the S group plans (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) and are NOT available for the legacy plans (VDS1, VDS2, VDS3).

Q: What are "snapshots"? Why would I need them and how do they work?

A: A snapshot is a saved full copy of the disks of your virtual machine (VDS server) that lets you restore the server at any time to the state it was in when the snapshot was taken. Once such a snapshot has been created, all changes are written not to the original disk image but to a separate file. This makes it quick and easy to return the server, if needed, to the state it was in before the snapshot was taken. You can either revert to the snapshot or delete it if you no longer need it. The terms "snapshot" and "image" are used interchangeably here and mean the same thing.

Q: What data is saved when a snapshot is created?

A: Creating a snapshot saves the complete state of the server's disk image, i.e. all of its files. So by restoring a snapshot you can undo absolutely all changes to the file system made after that snapshot was taken.

Q: How is disk space counted when snapshots are used?

A: The space taken up by snapshots is not included in the overall VDS quota (the "free space" on the server is shown without the space used by snapshots).

Q: Does using snapshots affect server performance?

A: Using snapshots has no effect on server performance.

Q: How do I create a server snapshot?

A: Shut down your VDS "from the inside" using the OS (Start - Shut Down, or with shutdown -h -t 0). You can monitor the shutdown via the VNC console. Once the server status in the client area changes to "Stopped", a "Create new snapshot" button will appear in the "Snapshots" section of the VDS control panel. Clicking it starts the creation of a new snapshot. Depending on the amount of data, creating a snapshot may take a long time, and the process cannot be cancelled or interrupted. When the snapshot has been created, you can start the server and continue working.

Q: I don't have any "Create new snapshot" links. Why?

A: The most likely reason is that your VDS server is not in the "Stopped" state. In addition, the "Create new snapshot" link is not shown if you have already created the maximum number of snapshots allowed by your plan.

Q: How long can a snapshot be kept?

A: Indefinitely, for as long as you use the server.

Q: How do I restore a previously created snapshot?

A: If you want to revert to a previously saved snapshot, select it in the list and click the "Restore" link next to it. Confirm that you agree to lose all current data (it will be overwritten with the data from the snapshot being restored), and the restore process will begin. Depending on the amount of data, the process may take a long time. It cannot be cancelled or interrupted. When the snapshot restore is complete, the server will start automatically and you just need to wait for it to finish booting.

Q: How do I delete a snapshot I no longer need?

A: Click the "Delete" link next to the snapshot in the list of snapshots. It will then be deleted within a few minutes. You do not need to shut down (stop) the server for this.

Q: I accidentally deleted the wrong snapshot. Can it be recovered?

A: No, deleting a snapshot is irreversible; it cannot be recovered.

Q: Can I restore a snapshot if the server was reinstalled after the snapshot was taken?

A: A reinstallation does not affect saved snapshots; you can restore a snapshot at any time.

Q: I have a snapshot I want to restore, but I need to keep some files uploaded after the snapshot was taken. What should I do?

A: Be sure to back up (download to your computer or to another server) all the files you want to keep, because restoring a snapshot undoes absolutely all changes made since it was taken. If, when restoring a snapshot, you want to keep not just individual files but, for example, certain settings or programs, unfortunately that is not possible.

Q: I restored a snapshot but forgot that after it was taken I had uploaded very important data to the server. How can I recover it? Help!!!

A: If you do not have another snapshot taken after you uploaded that "very important" data, then unfortunately there is no way to recover it, not even for an extra fee. If the data really was very important, you have a backup of it. Or at least you now know how important it is to keep your backups up to date.

Q: Why do the plans include so few snapshots?

A: Each snapshot takes up as much space as your VDS. This means we have to allocate several times more storage for snapshots than is allocated for all the VDS servers. That requires dozens of additional servers, hard drives, RAID controllers, terabytes of disk storage and hundreds of terabytes of traffic every month. As a result, increasing the number of snapshots by even 1 for all plans would raise our costs by several thousand EUR per month. So, in order not to build these costs into the prices for all clients (you do like low VDS prices, don't you?), we have kept the number of snapshots to a minimum: those who do not need snapshots do not use them and do not overpay for them, while those who need them can increase their number at any time for a fee.

Q: How much does an additional snapshot cost?

A: The prices of additional resources (including snapshots) are listed in this article

Q: Can a snapshot be restored on a different VDS?

A: Technically it is possible, but it requires work by our technical support staff, which costs 10 EUR. The hard drives on the server where the snapshot was created and on the server where it will be restored must be the same size.

Q: Can I download a snapshot and deploy it on my own virtual machine or another computer?

A: Downloading snapshots is not available. If you need a copy of the server's disk image, you can create one yourself using Acronis or similar software that can create disk image copies (for example, create an image of the system partition and save it to an additional partition or upload it to your remote FTP or other network storage), or you can order a downloadable copy of the image from technical support for 10 EUR.