Performance VPS
Foundational VPS
VDS
Specialty Servers
Domain Names
Colocation
Snapshots: Create, Revert, and Delete
Take a near-instant snapshot of your VPS before a risky change, revert to it if things go wrong, and understand how snapshots differ from backups.
A snapshot is a near-instant, point-in-time copy of your server that you can roll back to. It is the right tool before anything you might regret in the next hour: a distribution upgrade, a risky config change, a plugin you are not sure about. Snapshots live in the Snapshots tab of your server in the cloud portal.
Snapshots versus backups#
They solve different problems, and the cloud portal offers both:
| Snapshot | Backup | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Nearly instant to take and revert | Minutes to hours depending on disk size |
| Where it lives | On the same host as the server | On separate backup storage, off the host node |
| Survives deleting the server | No, snapshots go with it | Yes, until rotated |
| Best for | Short-term "undo" before a change | Disaster recovery and long-term safety |
Because a snapshot sits on the same hardware as the server, it is not a substitute for a backup. Use it as a quick undo button, and keep real backups for everything else.
Take a snapshot#
- Open the server in the cloud portal and go to the Snapshots tab.
- Click Create Snapshot and give it a name you will recognise later ("before ubuntu 24.04 upgrade").
- Wait a moment. The snapshot appears in the list with its timestamp. Depending on the storage type your server uses, the snapshot may capture memory state as well as the disk, so a running server is fine.
Each plan allows a set number of snapshots. If the button is unavailable, delete an old snapshot first.
Revert to a snapshot#
- Choose the snapshot in the list and pick Revert from its actions.
- Confirm. The server's disk is returned to exactly the state it was in when the snapshot was taken. Anything written since is gone, so if there is data you want to keep from the current state, copy it off first.
- Check the server comes back and behaves as expected, then delete snapshots you no longer need.
Delete a snapshot#
Pick Delete from the snapshot's actions and confirm. Snapshots consume space and count against your limit, and long-lived snapshots slow down disk operations on some storage types, so treat them as temporary.
Restoring a backup onto a server discards that server's snapshots on some storage formats, so take a fresh snapshot after a restore if you want one. And snapshots are tied to the server: deleting or cancelling the server deletes them, and they cannot be downloaded.
A good routine#
- Snapshot before every upgrade, migration, or experiment. Revert or delete within a day or two.
- Rely on scheduled backups (where your plan includes them) plus your own off-server backups for anything longer than that.
- Note the snapshot name in your change log or ticket so you know which one is safe to revert to.
