Snapshots & Backups

Auto.Sky uses two methods to create secure copies of your application databases: snapshots and backups.

Snapshots

Snapshots are complete copies of a database server's file system. By taking a snapshot, Sky.One can create a replica of the original server, with all the information available when the snapshot was taken. Snapshots are taken at least once a day, during night hours. It is the fastest and most secure method to recover old information from any generic database. Auto.Sky keeps at least seven snapshots available at a time.

Snapshots are stored in AWS’s Simple Storage Solution (S3). In this solution, the volume data are replicated across multiple servers within an Availability Zone (AZ) to prevent data loss with the failure of any component.

Restore Procedure

To restore any snapshot, you must open a ticket to the Sky.One Support Team. The restored server will then become available for you to access it in the state it was when the snapshot was taken. This process is shown below: 

Backups

Backup is a feature available in some software solutions. They are copies of entire databases. Backups rely on the procedures available in the database solution and are triggered daily, as part of the Auto.Sky automation process.

On Auto.Sky, backups are stored on AWS’s Simple Storage Solution (S3). It is an object storage solution that ensures 99.999999999% durability, replicating data across multiple Availability Zones (AZ).

Restore Procedure

To restore any backup, you need to open a ticket to the Sky.One support team. The backup can be either restored to the same or to another database server. After the restoration process is complete, you will receive instructions from the Sky.One Support Team on how to access the restored database.

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

RPO is the moment in which the last server snapshot was taken. From this moment on, all data generated by the system will be lost in case of any database, software, network and/or hardware failures.

RPO (Recovery Point Objective) is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss after an unforeseen incident ─ be it a database, software, network and/or hardware failure ─ expressed in terms of time. It is generally considered to be the period prior to the event, from the time the data can be recovered, i.e. since the last reliable backup was made.

In Auto.Sky, the default procedure is to take snapshots once a day, so its maximum restore point is 24 hours. However, Auto.Sky has other snapshot execution plans, with a minimum execution time of one hour.

To find out how to subscribe to other snapshot plans, please contact the sales executive responsible for your account.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

RTO is the maximum acceptable time to completely restore an environment and regain access to data after an unforeseen outage.

In Auto.Sky, the RTO is up to 4 hours and the restore procedure is performed by the support team, as described above.