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How to Use Snapshots on a VPS

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Stephanie R.
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Learn about the usage of snapshots for your OVHcloud VPS.

Creating a snapshot is a fast and simple way to secure a functioning system before making changes that might have undesired or unforeseen consequences, for example testing a new configuration or software. It does not, however, constitute a complete system backup strategy.

Before applying backup options, we recommend consulting the VPS options for pricing comparisons and further details.

 

Requirements

 

Topics

 

Instructions

Step 1: Enabling the Snapshot Option

To begin, log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel.

  1. Click Bare Metal Cloud at the top of the page.
  2. Click Virtual private servers.
  3. Select your VPS from the drop-down menu.

vpssnapshot01.png

From the Home tab, scroll down to the box called Summary of options. If Snapshot is already enabled, go to Step 2. If not:

  1. Click the more options ... button next to Snapshot.
  2. Select Order from the drop-down menu.

vpssnapshot02.png

 

In the new screen, please take note of the pricing information and then click Order. You will be guided through the order process and receive a confirmation email when you are finished.

vpssnapshot03.png

 

Step 2: Taking a Snapshot

Once the option is enabled, click the more options ... button next to the Snapshot option and select Take a snapshot from the drop-down menu.

vpssnapshot04.png

 

Proceed through the pop-up menu. You can write a description that will be attached to your snapshot. The time it takes to create the snapshot depends on the storage space in use. Afterward, refresh your page to see the creation timestamp in the Summary of options menu.

 

Step 3: Deleting or restoring a Snapshot

Since you can only have one snapshot activated at a time, the existing snapshot has to be deleted before creating a new one. To do so, click the more options ... button, then choose Delete the snapshot from the drop-down menu.

If you are sure that you want to reset your VPS to the status of the snapshot creation, click Restore the snapshot and confirm the execution in the pop-up window.

vpssnapshot05.png

WARNING: Please note that when you restore a VPS from a snapshot, the snapshot will be deleted. If you wish to keep the same snapshot, you should take a new one before making changes to the restored system.

If the snapshot function is too limited for your project, consider switching to the Automated Backups option.

 

Downloading a Snapshot

The current snapshot can be retrieved via a download link. Click on the more options ... button next to "Snapshot" and choose Download the snapshot.

vpssnapshot06.png

If your VPS is of an older product range, you might receive an error message because the option is not available for a legacy VPS. These older services have the following naming scheme: vpsXXXX.ovh.us (in which X stands for a number). You can verify this server reference on the Home tab in your OVHcloud Control Panel.

In the pop-up window, click on Generate download link.

vpssnapshot07.png

After a few seconds, a success message appears. Below it, you can copy the complete download command with one click.

vpssnapshot08.png

The size of the snapshot and the expiration date of the link will also be displayed.

Note that the download link will expire after 24 hours.

The download command uses curl, in the following format:

curl "https://storage.us-east-va.cloud.ovh.us/v1/AUTH_f5fgh4674dd706f15f6ffgf4z667d3f4g5f05/glance/5ceg3f93-8b49-436b-aefe-4185f9fc3f78?
temp_url_sig=f508cacda60256d5f211ddddf3f81130e935f0e4&temp_url_expires=1678247579" --output vps-x11x11xyy.vps.ovh.us --fail

It should work from any command line terminal.

When using Windows PowerShell however, you will need to adjust the command as follows:

curl -Uri "https://storage.us-east-va.cloud.ovh.us/v1/AUTH_f5fgh4674dd706f15f6ffgf4z667d3f4g5f05/glance/5ceg3f93-8b49-436b-aefe-4185f9fc3f78?
temp_url_sig=f508cacda60256d5f211ddddf3f81130e935f0e4&temp_url_expires=1678247579" -OutFile vps-x11x11xyy.vps.ovh.us

vpssnapshot09.png

We recommend not downloading snapshots directly to the VPS, to avoid using up the storage space.

The downloaded file can be imported into your Public Cloud Project as an image (QCOW2) via OpenStack. An example can be seen in this guide.

 

Best Practices for Using Snapshots

Configuring the QEMU agent on a VPS

Snapshots are instantaneous images of your running system ("live snapshot"). To ensure the availability of your system when the snapshot is created, the QEMU agent is used to prepare the filesystem for the process.

The required qemu-guest-agent is not installed by default on most distributions. Moreover, licensing restrictions may prevent OVHcloud from including it in the available OS images. Therefore, it is best practice to verify and install the agent in case it is not activated on your VPS. Connect to your VPS via SSH and follow the instructions below, according to your operating system.

 

Debian-based distributions (Debian, Ubuntu)

Use the following command to check whether the system is properly set up for snapshots:

file /dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0
/dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0: symbolic link to ../vport2p1

If the output is different ("No such file or directory"), install the latest package:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install qemu-guest-agent

Reboot the VPS:

sudo reboot

Check the service to ensure it is running:

sudo service qemu-guest-agent status

 

Redhat-based distributions (Centos, Fedora)

Use the following command to check whether the system is properly set up for snapshots:

file /dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0
/dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0: symbolic link to ../vport2p1

If the output is different ("No such file or directory"), install and enable the agent:

sudo yum install qemu-guest-agent
sudo chkconfig qemu-guest-agent on

Reboot the VPS:

sudo reboot

Check the agent and verify that it is running:

sudo service qemu-guest-agent status

 

Kernel issues on cPanel

Consult our cPanel auto backup guide to find out how to fix issues with cPanel servers getting stuck during an OVHcloud automated backup.

 

Windows

You can install the agent via MSI file, available from the Fedora project website: https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/latest-qemu-ga/.

Verify that the service is running by using this PowerShell command:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-Service QEMU-GA

Status   Name               DisplayName
------   ----               -----------
Running  QEMU-GA            QEMU Guest Agent

 

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other Virtual Private Servers support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.

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