Cloud Backup feature comparison of Different ECS backup editions - Cloud Backup

Backup options

Cloud Backup offers three options for backing up ECS instances:

ECS File Backup Essential Edition: Backs up ECS files only, with zero configuration. Uses a fixed daily backup policy with a 30-day retention period — this policy cannot be changed. Best for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and developers who need maintenance-free file protection.
ECS Backup Essential Edition: A subscription plan covering files, self-managed databases (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server), and full instance images. Uses a fixed daily backup policy with a 30-day retention period — this policy cannot be changed, and the total data to back up must be under 500 GB. Enterprise-grade features are not available. Best for SMEs and developers who need broader data protection without enterprise complexity.
Standard ECS backup provides separate, independently configurable features — ECS File Backup, ECS Database Backup, SAP HANA Backup, and ECS Instance Backup. Supports fully customizable backup policies and a full suite of enterprise-grade capabilities. Required for organizations that need geo-redundancy, custom retention policies, or automated data archiving.

Feature comparison of different backup options

Important

Under the same conditions — bandwidth, CPU, memory, and data volume — standard ECS backup and ECS Backup Essential Edition typically run faster than ECS File Backup Essential Edition. For details, see Backup and recovery speeds.

Item	Standard ECS backup	ECS Backup Essential Edition	ECS File Backup Essential Edition
Billable items	Varies by use case — may include backup software fees and backup storage usage. For details, see Billing methods and billable items.	Charged per ECS instance, regardless of backup storage usage. Backup stops if the total data to back up exceeds 500 GB. No pay-as-you-go fees are generated. (If you use ECS instance backup, ECS charges you for snapshots.)	Charged based on the total capacity of the block storage attached to the ECS instance, regardless of actual file data size. Includes a long-term free quota of 100 GiB. For details, see Free quota for ECS File Backup Essential Edition.
Billing method	Pay-as-you-go or resource plans	Subscription instances only	Pay-as-you-go or resource plans
Data volume limit	Unlimited	Total size of files and databases to back up must be under 500 GB. No limit on disk size.	Unlimited
Supported data sources	ECS files, self-managed databases, ECS instances, and SAP HANA. Supports selective backup — choose specific files, folders, or databases on an ECS instance. Four database backup types: full, incremental, log, and real-time.	ECS files, self-managed databases (MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle), and ECS instances. Supports selective backup — choose specific files or databases on an ECS instance. Database backup type cannot be changed after setup.	ECS files only. Selective backup is not supported — all user-created folders on the instance are backed up by default. For details, see Limits.
Backup policy	Fully customizable. Set backup frequency down to the minute for some data sources, and configure retention periods of any length — including special retention rules and automatic archiving.	Fixed: one backup per day, retained for 30 days. Cannot be changed.	Fixed: one backup per day, retained for 30 days. Cannot be changed.
Enterprise-grade capabilities	Cross-region backup Cross-account backup Automatic archiving KMS encryption Immutable backup Backup point virus detection	Not supported.	Not supported.

Recommended use cases

Choose the option that matches your data types and operational requirements. If your workloads span multiple use case categories, combine options — but use only one option per data source to avoid redundancy.

For ECS file backup, choose one of: ECS File Backup Essential Edition, file backup in ECS Backup Essential Edition, or ECS File Backup in standard ECS backup.
For ECS database backup, choose one of: database backup in ECS Backup Essential Edition or ECS Database Backup in standard ECS backup.
For ECS instance backup, choose one of: instance backup in ECS Backup Essential Edition or instance backup in standard ECS backup.

Edition	Recommended use case	Backup data source	Notes
ECS File Backup Essential Edition	Zero-configuration, maintenance-free file backup. The fixed daily backup policy with a 30-day retention period meets your needs.	General files: documents, images, and logs.	All three options use AES-256 encryption by default. Only standard ECS backup additionally supports KMS encryption. All three options store backups in zone-redundant backup vaults for high availability. For supported regions, see Vault types.
ECS Backup Essential Edition	Files and databases on an ECS instance both need to be backed up. Total data is under 500 GB. The fixed daily backup policy with a 30-day retention period meets your needs.	Files, databases (MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle), and ECS instances (disk snapshots).
Standard ECS backup	Comprehensive enterprise-grade data protection with flexible, customizable policies. Required when compliance, geo-redundancy, or centralized O&M management demand more than the fixed-policy editions offer.	Files, databases (MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle), ECS instances (disk snapshots), and SAP HANA.