Snapshots vs Backups
| Feature | Snapshot | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Manual | Automated daily |
| Retention | Until deleted | 7 days rolling |
| Cost | $0.05/GB/month | +20% of plan |
| Use case | Pre-change checkpoint | Disaster recovery |
Taking a Snapshot
- Go to Servers → [Your Server] → Snapshots.
- Click Take Snapshot.
- Enter a description, e.g.
pre-upgrade-2025-01-15. - Click Confirm.
Snapshot creation takes 1–5 minutes depending on disk size.
Restoring from a Snapshot
Warning: Restoring overwrites the current server state permanently.
- Go to Servers → [Your Server] → Snapshots.
- Click Restore next to the desired snapshot.
- Confirm the action.
The server will reboot into the restored state.
Creating a New Server from a Snapshot
- Go to Storage → Snapshots → [Snapshot] → Deploy Server.
- Choose a plan and region.
- The new server boots from the snapshot.
This is useful for:
- Cloning a configured server
- Creating identical nodes for a cluster
- Deploying to a new region
Managing Snapshot Storage
>_BASH
$# List snapshots via API$curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>" https://api.lightyear.host/v1/snapshotsDelete old snapshots to reduce storage costs.