File Backup Essential Edition automatically backs up your Elastic Compute Service (ECS) files daily and lets you restore individual files without rolling back the entire disk. After you activate the service, Cloud Assistant installs a backup client on the instance and runs daily backups with no further configuration required. The client is automatically uninstalled when you cancel backups.
Backups use a forever-incremental mechanism: the first run creates a full backup, and each subsequent run uploads only changed data blocks, which are synthesized into a complete backup version in the cloud.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
An ECS instance running a 64-bit operating system
The instance is in a VPC (classic network instances are not supported)
Access to the ECS console - File Backup
Activate ECS file backup
Activate backups during instance creation or for an existing instance from the File Backup page.
During instance creation
In the Storage section, find File Backup and select Activate Backup.
The following default settings apply:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Backup time | Random time between 00:00–06:00 | Becomes the fixed daily backup schedule |
| Retain the latest version | Enabled | The most recent backup is never deleted, even after its 30-day retention period expires |
| Backup priority | Low | Uses 1 vCPU and up to 10 MB/s throughput to reduce instance load |
You can modify these settings at any time after activation.
For an existing instance
Log on to the ECS console - File Backup. In the upper-left corner, select the region where the instance is located.
If this is your first time using the service, follow the on-screen instructions to create and grant a service-linked role.
Click Add ECS Instance with Inactive Backup, configure the parameters, and click OK.
Parameter Description ECS to Be Backed-up Select the target instance from the drop-down list Start Time Default Time: the system selects a random time between 00:00–06:00. Specified Time: set a specific daily backup time Backup Priority (Advanced Settings) Low: up to 10 MB/s, uses 1 vCPU. High: up to 30 MB/s, uses up to 2 vCPUs, reduces total backup time Keep At Least One Backup Version (Advanced Settings) When enabled, the most recent backup is retained indefinitely and will not be deleted after its 30-day retention period expires. Fees continue to accrue for the retained backup. ImportantIf you disable this option, all backups are automatically deleted after 30 days when you pause backups — leaving no recovery point.
When the backup status changes to Ready, the backup is active.
At the scheduled backup time, if the ECS instance is in the Running state, go to the ECS File Backup Essential Edition page. In the Actions column, click View Details > Backup Task to monitor progress. The backup is complete when Task status shows Completed.
If a backup fails, the system sends an alert by email or internal message to the Alibaba Cloud account. Refer to FAQ about ECS File Backup Essential Edition for troubleshooting guidance.
Restore ECS files
Log on to the ECS console - File Backup. In the upper-left corner, select the region where the instance is located.
In the Actions column for the target instance, click View Details > Backup Details.
In Backup History, click a backup point and select Restore.
A backup point represents a backup of a single disk partition — for example, the
C:orD:drive on Windows, or the/directory on Linux.
On the Create Restore Job page, configure the parameters and click OK.
Parameter Description Restore item All files: restores everything from the backup point. Include specified files: restores only selected files. Exclude specified files: restores all files except the selected ones Restore destination Defaults to the original ECS instance. Select another instance in the same region if needed. The destination instance must be in the Running state Restore path Defaults to the Original path. If you select Other path, make sure the destination path already exists on the instance — the task fails if the path is missing If a file with the same name exists Defaults to Skip this file. Select Overwrite the file in the restore path with caution: the original file content is permanently lost Confirm the restore is complete. In the Actions column of the target instance, click View Details > Restore Task. The restore is complete when Task status shows Complete. After confirming completion, verify that the restored files are intact and your application is functioning as expected.
Manage backups
Go to the ECS console - File Backup and use the Actions column for the target instance to manage backup settings.
Modify backup settings
| Operation | Description |
|---|---|
| Pause backup | Stops future backup tasks. Existing backups are not affected but are deleted after their 30-day retention period expires. If Keep At Least One Backup Version is enabled, the last completed backup version is retained regardless of the 30-day retention period |
| Resume backup | Available only when status is Paused. Resumes backup tasks and billing |
| Cancel backup | Stops billing and removes the instance from the backup list. All backups are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. |
| Enable/disable Keep At Least One Backup Version | Enabling takes effect immediately — the latest backup is preserved beyond the 30-day period. Disabling takes effect within one hour. If the last backup has already expired, it is deleted within one hour of disabling this option. Note Disabling this option may result in no available backups due to paused backups or other reasons |
| Change backup priority | Takes effect on the next backup task |
| Modify next backup time | Changes the daily backup time (not the date). If today's backup has not yet run and the new time is later than the current time, the backup runs today at the new time. If the new time has already passed today, today's backup is skipped and the next backup runs at the new time tomorrow. If today's backup has already run, the change takes effect the following day |
Cancel a backup or restore task
Canceling an in-progress task does not affect completed backups.
Log on to the ECS console - File Backup. In the upper-left corner, select the region where the instance is located.
In the Actions column for the target instance, click View Details.
To cancel a backup task, click the Backup task tab. In the Actions column, click Cancel. To cancel a restore task, click the Restore task tab and click Cancel.
Billing
Billing is daily, and daily consumption details are provided. Billing is based on the total capacity of all block storage (disks) attached to the instance, not the amount of data actually backed up.
Each Alibaba Cloud account and its associated Resource Access Management (RAM) users share a 100 GiB free quota across all regions. Usage above this quota is billed based on actual consumption.
Purchase a resource plan to offset pay-as-you-go fees. For pricing details, see Benefits of File Backup Essential Edition.
Limitations
Unsupported instance types:
Instances with 32-bit operating systems
Instances in a classic network
Unsupported storage and file types:
Externally attached network storage: NAS, ossfs, and GlusterFS
Linux system directories:
/bin/,/usr/bin/,/sbin/,/boot/,/proc/,/sys/,/srv/,/lib/,/selinux/,/usr/sbin/,/run/,/lib32/,/lib64/, and/lost+found/Windows system paths:
Windows\,python27\,Program Files (x86)\,Program Files\,ProgramData\,Boot\,$RECYCLE.BIN\,System Volume Information\,Users\Administrator\NTUSER.DAT,pagefile.sys, andUsers\Administrator\ntuser.dat.LOG1
Concurrent backup tasks: Only one backup task can run on an instance at a time. If the total size of files exceeds 2 TiB (high priority) or 600 GiB (low priority), a backup task may take more than 24 hours. In that case, the next day's scheduled backup is skipped and resumes at the following scheduled interval.
Supported regions: For the latest list, see the ECS console - File Backup page.
What's next
For databases that require high data consistency, use Database Backup or create an application-consistent snapshot.
To compare backup options, see Feature comparison of ECS backup editions and Comparison between snapshots and File Backup Essential Edition.