In short: Unless a managed backup product is explicitly included in the order, maintaining recoverable VPS or dedicated-server data is the customer's responsibility. Keep backups outside the protected server and test restores.
Confirm what your service includes
Review the order and service details for any snapshot or managed-backup feature. A platform snapshot, RAID mirror and application export serve different purposes and none should be assumed to replace another.
| Protection | Useful for | Does not by itself protect against |
|---|---|---|
| RAID | Some disk failures | Deletion, corruption, compromise or site loss |
| Snapshot | Short-term rollback of a whole disk or VM | Failure of the same platform or an untested application restore |
| File/database backup | Granular recovery | A missing system configuration unless it is included |
| Off-site backup | Disaster recovery | Poor retention, encryption or restore procedures |
Design a backup plan
- Identify systems, databases, files and configuration that must be recoverable.
- Set recovery-point and recovery-time objectives.
- Keep multiple versions and at least one copy outside the server and its credentials.
- Encrypt sensitive backups and protect deletion controls.
- Monitor every backup job and investigate missed runs.
Test recovery
Restore representative files and databases to an isolated location. Periodically rehearse a complete service recovery, including DNS, certificates, secrets, scheduled jobs and application dependencies.
Before major changes
Take an additional recoverable backup before upgrades, storage work, filesystem repair or a server rebuild. Contact Virgo Networks if you want to discuss an available managed option.
