If you have different requirements for the snapshot creation time, frequency, and retention period for a disk, you can attach multiple automatic snapshot policies to it. This helps you meet various backup needs, such as frequent short-term backups and long-term data retention.
Feature changes
This feature is available only to users who are on the whitelist. By default, you can attach only one automatic snapshot policy to a single disk. To attach multiple policies, submit a ticket to request access.
Before you are added to the whitelist | After you enable the whitelist |
You can attach only one automatic snapshot policy to a single disk. | You can attach up to 10 automatic snapshot policies to a single disk. |
If an automatic snapshot policy is already attached to the target disk, applying a new policy replaces the existing one. | If an automatic snapshot policy is already attached to the target disk, applying a new policy adds it to the disk. The existing policy is not replaced. Important Detach automatic snapshot policies that you no longer need to avoid unexpected charges. |
Scope
Make sure that one of the following conditions is met for the disk:
The disk is attached to an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance that is in the Running or Stopped state.
The disk is in the Unattached state and was previously attached to an ECS instance.
You can call the DescribeDisks operation and check the AttachedTime field to determine whether the disk was previously attached.
Procedure
Configure automatic snapshot policies for a single disk
Go to ECS console - Block Storage. In the top navigation bar, select the target region and resource group.
Find the target disk and click Configure Automatic Snapshot Policy in the Actions column.
On the Configure Automatic Snapshot Policy page, add or delete policies. You can attach up to 10 automatic snapshot policies to a single disk.
Add a policy: In the Automatic Snapshot Policy drop-down list, select an existing policy. You can also click Create Policy, follow the on-screen instructions, and click Create. Then, click OK.
Delete a policy: In the Automatic Snapshot Policy list, click the X icon next to the policy you want to delete. Then, click OK.
ImportantAfter you delete an automatic snapshot policy, automatic snapshots are no longer created based on this policy. Ensure that your data is protected.
Attach disks to an automatic snapshot policy
Go to the ECS console and choose Automatic Snapshot Policy. In the upper-left corner of the page, select the resource group and region where the target resource is located.
Find the target policy and perform the required operations in the Actions column.
Attach disks: Click Bind Disk. In the Optional Disks section, select the target disks and then click Bind.
You cannot select disks that are already attached to this policy or disks that have reached the limit of 10 attached policies.
Detach disks: Click Unbind Disk. In the Optional Disks section, select the target disks and then click Unbind.
ImportantAfter a disk is detached, automatic snapshots are no longer created for it based on this policy. Ensure that your data is protected.
Billing details
Creating an automatic snapshot policy is free of charge. However, you are charged based on the task type after the policy is successfully executed. You can reduce snapshot storage costs by configuring automatic snapshots to be released with their disks, periodically deleting unused automatic snapshots, and archiving snapshots.
Automatic snapshot creation task: For all snapshots created by a policy, you are charged a standard snapshot storage fee based on their snapshot size.
Cross-region replication tasks: If you enable the cross-region replication feature for a policy, in addition to the standard snapshot fees in the source region, you are also charged for snapshot replication traffic fees and standard snapshot storage fees in the destination region.
Quotas and limits
You can attach a maximum of 10 automatic snapshot policies to each disk.
The number of concurrent snapshot creation tasks (including automatic and manual snapshots) for a single disk is limited. If this limit is exceeded when a policy is triggered, the task is skipped. The system retries the task at the next scheduled time. The task limits for different disk types are as follows:
Disk category
Task limit
ESSD series disks (ESSDs, ESSD AutoPL, ESSD Entry, and zone-redundant ESSDs)
10
Previous generation disks (standard SSDs, ultra disks, and basic disks)
1
If a policy has cross-region snapshot replication enabled, a new replication task is skipped if another task for the same disk, source region, and destination region already exists. The system retries the task at the next scheduled time.
For the maximum number of automatic snapshots allowed per disk, see Snapshot limits. When this limit is reached, the system deletes the oldest automatic snapshot created by the policy. Plan the retention period of your snapshots based on your business needs to prevent important snapshots from being accidentally deleted.
More operations
Configure automatic snapshots to be released with their disks
By default, the lifecycle of an automatic snapshot is determined by the retention period of the automatic snapshot policy. The snapshot is not released when its disk is released. You can enable the Delete Automatic Snapshots While Releasing Disk property for automatic snapshots as needed.
After you enable the Delete Automatic Snapshots While Releasing Disk property for automatic snapshots, when you release the disk (manually, with its instance, or by replacing the operating system), the automatic snapshots are deleted with the disk even if their retention period has not expired.
Go to ECS console - Block Storage. In the top navigation bar, select the target region and resource group.
Find the target disk and click in the Actions column.
In the Modify Disk Attributes dialog box, select the Delete Automatic Snapshots While Releasing Disk option.
You can clear this option later to disable the Delete Automatic Snapshots While Releasing Disk
Click Confirm.
How do I view created automatic snapshots?
After a policy is executed, snapshots are automatically created on the ECS console > Snapshots page.
Automatic snapshots are named in the format auto2.0_yyyyMMdd_SnapshotPolicyId. The Source is Automatic Creation. The components of the name are described as follows:
auto2.0: Indicates an automatic snapshot.
For more information about the differences between automatic and manual snapshots, see Snapshot FAQ.
yyyyMMdd: The date when the snapshot was created. yyyy represents the year, MM represents the month, and dd represents the day.
SnapshotPolicyId: The ID of the automatic snapshot policy used to create the snapshot.
For example, auto2.0_20241225_sp-2zeff8vy17u91rn5**** indicates an automatic snapshot created on December 25, 2024. The ID of the automatic snapshot policy is sp-2zeff8vy17u91rn5****.