Overview
This article provides an overview of the automated backup types available for Amazon Web Services (AWS) users through AWS Workloads (CloudRanger).
Amazon EBS snapshots
AWS Workloads (CloudRanger) leverages native Amazon EBS snapshots for backup operatiions. To optimize storage and performance, these snapshots are incremental, capturing only block-level changes made since the most recent backup.
The initial snapshot is a complete copy of the EBS volume.
Subsequent snapshots record only changes made since the last snapshot, enabling efficient and reliable restoration of full volume data.
Amazon EBS snapshots utilizes Amazon S3 infrastructure for long-term storage, ensuring high durability by automatically replicating data across multiple Availability Zones.. As point-in-time, incremental backups, these snapshots serve as a reliable baseline for provisioning new volumes or executing disaster recovery protocols.
While EBS snapshots reside on Amazon S3 infrastructure, they do not appear within your user-managed S3 buckets. AWS manages this storage internally, restricting direct access to the snapshots.
Amazon Machine Images (AMI)
AWS Workloads (CloudRanger) supports automated backups via Amazon Machine Images (AMIs). An AMI serves as a comprehensive system backup, capturing the exact state of your software configuration, including the operating system, application server, and all installed applications, for rapid recovery.
Deploying from an AMI launches a running instance on AWS cloud. Unlike standalone EBS snapshots that only back up raw EBS data volumes, AMIs provide a comprehensive system image, ensuring you can spin up functional virtual servers with all configurations intact.
Similar to EBS snapshots, AMI backups leverage incremental storage, capturing only the data blocks modified since the previous backup. Deleting an individual backup removes only its unique data blocks, ensuring the integrity and completeness of all other restore points.
Storage Location
All Amazon EBS snapshots and AMIs are stored within Amazon S3 infrastructure. However, they are not accessible via standard S3 buckets. AWS handles this storage behind the scenes, ensuring redundancy and availability without exposing the raw snapshot files.