This posting is a follow up to my last post on backups. Several customers and prospects have been asking about backups on cloud servers. More specifically, if you can turn the server off and restore at a later time from backup. Currently if you backup a cloud server, the snapshot(s) for that server will only be kept for as long as you have the server. Since you cannot “suspend” or turn a server off, you can only delete. With that in mind, there are two states to a cloud server, running/available and deleted/unavailable. See below for some Q/A:



Q: I want to keep my server running for only 2 weeks then go on vacation and not have to pay for it. Can I turn the server off and restore later from a backup?
A: If you delete the server, all backups for that server are deleted along with it. Remember, it can only be deleted, not simply switched off.



Q: What else can I do?
A: You do you have an option for this with a few limitations. If you have a large server you can always resize the server down too the minimum, which is 256MB of RAM. You can keep that until you are ready for more resources. While not free, the minimum server is only $10.95 per month. The only limitation here is that you cannot resize too a plan that has less storage than you are using. For example the minimum plan offer 10GB of storage, you cannot resize from a larger plan if you are actually utilizing more than 10GB of storage.



Q: Is there a work-around for this limitation?
A: You can use cloud files for your static files and reference the files via API. You can also reference the files by publishing the cloud files container to the CDN and using the applicable URL. This second part is not recommended for those in fear of “hotlinking” to the files you have stored. For example, if your URL was given out, anyone could access the file with the link. If you wanted to lock down the file stored in cloud files, you would have to do so via your own development using the Cloud Files developer’s guide. If you are in fact able to store the majority of your files on cloud files, then it would make it more likely for you too resize from a large cloud server plan to a smaller one.



Q; What about databases, can i offload databases on cloud files?
A: Currently you cannot use cloud files for dynamic content. If you had a database larger than 10GB, you could not resize down too the 256MB cloud server plan. If your database was between 10-20GB, you can always resize to the 512MB cloud server. Although $22/mo, still quite a bit less if coming from the 4,8,16GB servers.



Q: None of this helps me, I still need more storage and cannot resize……can you please help me?
A: The great news is that we do have a permanent solution on the way. Hopefully before year end there will be a migration for cloud server backups into cloud files. At that point you will be able to backup any size server and retain the backup for as long as you like. You will also be able to retain the backup after the server has been deleted. Lastly, no longer will you be limited to only retaining the 3 most recent backups per server. The charge will be the standard fee for cloud files ($.15/GB per month).

Currently you can only backup the 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB cloud servers. In the future Rackspace Cloud plans on migrating all cloud servers customers to our cloud files system for backups. Once that is completed, you can retain as many backups as you like and backup any size server that you would like. Backups will just be charged by storage at that point, $.15 per GB per month. As of now, you can set the backup schedule first:

Aside from setting a schedule, you can also view currently stored backups and create manual snapshot/backup: