Service Management: VPS Snapshots
A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of your VPS that captures the exact state of the server at the moment the snapshot is taken. This includes the operating system, configuration, installed applications, and stored data.
Snapshots are different from traditional backups. A backup is typically a scheduled disaster recovery copy of your system designed for restoring data after a failure. A snapshot, on the other hand, is usually created manually and is intended as a quick restore point before making changes to your server.
Hipposerve® provides snapshots as a convenient tool to help you protect your VPS before performing changes or testing new configurations.
Common uses for snapshots include:
- Before installing new software so you can quickly revert if something goes wrong.
- Before performing system upgrades or configuration changes.
- During development or testing where you may need to return to a known working state.
- Before major maintenance tasks that could potentially affect system stability.
Important: Snapshots are a charged service. Creating and storing additional snapshots will result in additional monthly charges.
Full details of snapshot billing can be found here:
https://hipposerve.com/legal-stuff/billing-and-charging
Because snapshots are billed monthly, it is important to delete snapshots when they are no longer required. Hipposerve® cannot issue refunds for charges that have already accrued for stored snapshots.
Accessing Snapshot Management
- Open your VPS in the Hipposerve® Portal (see here).
- In Service Management, click the Snapshot icon.
This will open the Snapshot Management interface where you can view any existing snapshots for your VPS instance.
Creating a Snapshot
- Click the Create Snapshot button.
- The snapshot creation dialogue will appear.
- Enter a descriptive label for the snapshot so that it is easy to identify later.
- Confirm the creation of the snapshot.
The time required to create a snapshot can vary depending on the size of the VPS. In most cases this may take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
Restoring a Snapshot
- Locate the snapshot you wish to restore.
- Click the Restore icon.
- Confirm that you wish to proceed with the restore.
Restoring a snapshot will erase the current contents of your VPS and restore the server exactly as it was when the snapshot was taken.
Editing a Snapshot Label
- Click the Edit icon next to the snapshot.
- Update the snapshot label.
- Confirm the changes.
This allows you to rename snapshots to better reflect their purpose.
Deleting a Snapshot
- Locate the snapshot you wish to remove.
- Click the Delete (trash can) icon.
- Confirm the deletion.
Deleting a snapshot will permanently remove it from your VPS snapshot list and prevents further charges from being accrued.
Important Disclaimers
Warning: Restoring a snapshot will permanently overwrite all current data on the VPS with the contents of the selected snapshot.
Deleting a snapshot will permanently remove that snapshot and it will no longer be available for recovery.
Hipposerve® accepts no responsibility for any data loss, service interruption, or configuration issues resulting from the creation, restoration, editing, or deletion of VPS snapshots. You should always ensure that important data has been backed up before performing snapshot operations.
Snapshots are designed as a convenience feature and should not be considered a replacement for regular backups.
Unlike scheduled backup services, snapshots are typically created manually and are stored as full disk images of your VPS at a specific moment in time. While useful for quickly rolling back changes, they are not intended for long-term data protection.
For reliable disaster recovery and ongoing protection of your data, we strongly recommend using a dedicated backup solution. In most cases, regular automated backups are also a more cost-effective option for long-term data retention.
