Back up data or change encryption by copying snapshots within or across regions. - Elastic Compute Service

Copy snapshots within or across regions for backup, disaster recovery, or encryption.

Prerequisites

Snapshot copies serve the following purposes:

DevOps

Deploy services or migrate workloads to another region with snapshot copies to reduce O&M costs and improve availability.
Backup and disaster recovery

Maintain off-site snapshot copies for compliance or reliability. Restore services quickly to reduce Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).

Snapshot copies can be standard or encrypted. Choose based on your encryption requirements.

Copy type	Use case	Security implications	Procedure
Standard copy	Back up an unencrypted snapshot to another region or create a disk from the copy.	Data is stored in plain text. Anyone with snapshot access can read it without an encryption key.	Copy
Encrypted copy	Encrypt an existing unencrypted snapshot (same region). Copy an encrypted snapshot to rotate its KMS key. Create cross-region encrypted copies for off-site backup or disk creation. Rotate the KMS key during a cross-region copy of an encrypted snapshot.	Data in an encrypted snapshot is accessible only with the correct KMS key, protecting sensitive information and helping meet compliance requirements.	Copy and Encrypt

Important

Review billing rules before copying snapshots to estimate charges.

Billing rules for copies from the same source snapshot:

Copy type	Destination region	Size basis	Fees
Standard copy of an unencrypted snapshot	Cross-region	First copy = full snapshot size. Subsequent copies to the same region = incremental.	Snapshot storage fee Data transfer fee
Encrypted copy of an unencrypted snapshot	Same region	First copy = full disk size. Subsequent copies = incremental. Changing the KMS key triggers a new full copy, after which copies are incremental again.	Snapshot storage fee KMS fee
Encrypted copy of an unencrypted snapshot	Cross-region	Same process as same‑region.	Snapshot storage fee Data transfer fee KMS fee
Encrypted copy of an encrypted snapshot	Same region	First copy = full snapshot size. Subsequent copies = incremental. Changing the KMS key triggers a new full copy, after which copies are incremental again.	Snapshot storage fee KMS fee
Encrypted copy of an encrypted snapshot	Cross-region	Same process as same‑region.	Snapshot storage fee Data transfer fee KMS fee

Snapshot storage fee

Charged in the destination region. See snapshot Billing for details.
Data transfer fee

Formula:
- Unit price: See per-region prices on the ECS product page. Navigate to the Pricing section, select a region, then check Snapshot > Snapshot replication service fee details.
- Snapshot size: In GB. View snapshot size.
  
  Important
  For the first encrypted copy of an unencrypted snapshot, snapshot size refers to the size of the source disk.
KMS fee

The default service key is free. Custom KMS keys may incur charges. See KMS billing.

The source snapshot's retention period and tags are not copied.

In the ECS console, copied snapshots are retained permanently by default. The CopySnapshot API supports setting a retention period.
The new snapshot has a different ID from the source. You cannot roll back the source disk with the new snapshot.
Copied snapshots do not support instant access.
Standard copies produce standard snapshots.

Go to ECS console - Snapshots.
In the upper-left corner of the page, select a region and resource group.
On the Disk Snapshots tab, locate your snapshot. In the Actions column, select > Copy Snapshot.

In the Copy Snapshot dialog box, configure the parameters.

Parameter		Description
Snapshot Name		The new snapshot name.
Destination Region		The destination region. Standard copies must target a different region.
Copy Type		Select Copy.
(Optional) Advanced Settings	Description	Optional description for easier management.
	Tag	Optional tag. Note Tags from the source snapshot are not copied.

Parameter		Description
Snapshot Name		The new snapshot name.
Destination Region		The destination region. Encrypted copies can target the same or a different region. Copying encrypted snapshots to China (Nanjing - Local Region) Closing Down is not supported.
Copy Type		Select Copy and Encrypt. Snapshots from encrypted disks are automatically encrypted and must use this option.
Encryption Key		Select the default service key or a customer master key (CMK). The default service key (alias/acs/ecs) is fully managed by ECS. You can also use a CMK that you create or import in KMS for full control over encryption policies. See KMS integration.
(Optional) Advanced Settings	Description	Optional description for easier management.
	Tag	Optional tags. Tags from the source snapshot are not copied.

Click OK. The copy starts.
(Optional) To view progress, switch to the destination region.
- If Progress shows Progressing, the copy is in progress. To cancel, click Delete Snapshot in the Actions column. This cancels the task and deletes the partial snapshot.
- When Progress shows Available, the copy is complete.
  - Hover over Snapshot Copy in the Creation Method column to view the original snapshot ID.
  - On the snapshot details page, view the encryption status and key in the Encrypted/Unencrypted section.