Cloud Backup:Back up ECS files

Usage notes

• For optimal backup speed, run the Cloud Backup client on a machine that has a 64-bit dual-core CPU or higher and more than 8 GB of available memory.

• The backup capacity is determined by the available system memory. For example:

  • 4 GB of available memory: Supports backing up to 1 million files (max 8 TB total).

  • 16 GB of available memory: Required for backing up folders that contain tens of millions of files or more.

• When you create a backup plan or attach a backup policy for the first time, Cloud Backup automatically creates the AliyunServiceRoleForHbrEcsBackup service-linked role to obtain permissions to access related resources. A dialog box appears for role authorization. Grant the permissions as prompted.

• The ECS backup client must be used with Alibaba Cloud Assistant. For ECS instances purchased before December 1, 2017, you must manually install the Cloud Assistant Agent.

Create a backup plan to periodically back up ECS files

1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Backup > ECS File Backup.

3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.

4. On the ECS File Backup page, click the ECS Instances tab. Find the target instance and click Back Up in the Actions column.

5. In the Create Backup Plan panel, configure the parameters as described in the following table and click OK.

   Important

   • In regions that support backup policies, backup plans must be created by attaching a policy. The attached policy will govern the periodic backup of your ECS files.

   • In the navigation pane on the left of the console, click Policy Center to view the regions that support backup policies. For more information, see Create a backup policy.

   Parameter	Description
   Backup Folder Rule	Specify the folders to back up. Cloud Backup backs up all files and subdirectories in the specified folders. Select All Folders or Specified Folders. If you select All Folders, select whether to enable Exclude System Folders. If you enable Exclude System Folders, the excluded system directories for Windows and Linux are not included in the backup plan. Click the icon to the right of Exclude System Folders to view the details of the excluded system directories. If you do not enable Exclude System Folders, all directories are included in the backup plan. If you select Specified Folders, you must specify the Source Paths. Click Add Folder to add multiple backup folders. The source path rules are as follows: Without a wildcard character (*), up to eight paths can be entered. With a wildcard character (*), only one path can be entered. Wildcards such as /*/* are supported. Each line must be an absolute path, such as a path that starts with /, \\, C:\, or D:\. When you use Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), multiple paths, UNC paths, wildcards, and file exclusions are not supported. When you use UNC, VSS, wildcards, and file exclusions are not supported. If the backup source includes a UNC path, Windows ACLs are not backed up.
   Exclude System Folders	Enable the Exclude System Folders option to exclude system directories from the backup.
   Backup File Type	Select All Types or Specified Type. If you select All Types, all file types are backed up. If you select Specified Type, you must specify the file types to back up in the Select File Type box.
   Backup Policy	Select a backup policy from the drop-down list. Cloud Backup automatically protects your data source based on a configurable backup policy. This policy offers granular control by allowing you to define settings such as the backup interval, retention period, encryption, geo-redundancy, automatic archiving, and virus scanning. If the default backup policy does not meet your backup requirements, click Create Backup Policy or Edit Policy to manage backup policies. For more information about backup policy parameters, see Policy center.
   Enable Bandwidth Throttling	Bandwidth throttling helps you control backup traffic during peak business hours to avoid affecting your services. To use bandwidth throttling, enable the Enable Bandwidth Throttling option, select a Time Range, enter the Max Bandwidth (MByte/s) that can be used for backups within the time window, and then click Add.

Successful backup

• When the scheduled backup time arrives, Cloud Backup starts and runs the backup job.

  Note

  The backup progress is an estimate and may not be exact. The system calculates it based on the data scanned so far, and the total data size may increase as the scan continues. Always refer to the final job status for confirmation of completion.

  On the Backup Jobs tab, if the Status of a backup job is Completed, the backup is successful.

  View details about the backup job, such as Total Scan, Completed Backups, Written to Vault, and Backup Speed. For more information about these metrics, see the tooltips in the Cloud Backup console.

  Note

  • For backup jobs completed on or after June 1, 2025, statistics for both data volume and file count are displayed for Total Scanned at Source, Backup Completed, and Data Written to Vault. For backup jobs completed before this date, only data volume statistics are shown for these metrics.

  • The job list displays only the backup jobs from the last six months. To view older jobs, export them from the Audit Report page.

  

• On the Backup Plans tab, click the icon next to the target ECS instance to view the backup records and the generated backup points in the Backup History. These historical backup points can be used to restore ECS files.

  

Troubleshooting

If the client or backup job Status is abnormal, refer to the following information.

• Client Status is Not Installed.

  • The backup client is not installed on the ECS instance. This means the ECS instance is not protected by a backup. Use this feature to back up important data.

  • The backup client is installed automatically by Cloud Assistant when you create a backup plan for your ECS instance. Once the installation is complete, the Client Status will update to Activated and the version number will be displayed.

• Backup status is Failed.

  • Follow the prompts on the interface to modify the configuration and confirm that it is correct.

  • Check the logs to locate the specific error code.

    Note

    The default installation paths for the backup client are for reference only. Use the actual installation path when you perform operations.

    • Windows log path: Local Disk (C) > Program Files > Aliyun Hybrid Backup Service Client > logs

    • Linux log path: /opt/alibabacloud/hbrclient/logs

• Backup status is Partially Completed.

  Download the list of files that failed to be backed up, check each file, and resolve the errors based on the error messages. Then, run the backup job again.

  Note

  When using the VSS feature on Windows ECS instances, file paths in error messages may include a shadow_ali_ids segment. This is an internal path used for VSS snapshots and can be safely ignored. For example, a path shown as E:\shadow_ali_ids\test refers to the actual file path E:\test.

Browse and download backup files

• Browse backup files

  The Browse feature lets you browse backed-up files. If a virus scan was performed on the backup point that you are browsing, Cloud Backup marks any files that are infected with a virus.

  1. On the Backup Plans tab, find the target client and click .

  2. In the Backup History, find the backup point for the desired time, click the backup point, and select Browse.

  

• Download backup files

  Backed-up files cannot be downloaded directly. To download them, you must first restore them to a specific location. For example, during restoration, set Restore Path Type to Specify Path and set Destination Path to /temp/path. Create this path before you start the restore job. Otherwise, the job fails. After the restore job is complete, the files from the backup point are downloaded to this path.

Extend the retention period of a backup point

To keep historical data from an ECS file backup for an extended period, extend the retention period of the backup point.

1. On the Backup Plans tab, click the icon next to the target ECS instance.

2. In the Backup History, click the historical backup point whose retention period you want to extend. Set a specific time or select Never Expire.

   

3. Click Save.

Virus scan

To prevent files that contain viruses from being restored to your production environment, the Cloud Backup service provides the Backup Point Virus Detection feature. This feature helps you select a clean and safe backup point for future data restoration. Click Virus Detection to check files for viruses. For more information, see Backup point virus scan.

Reinstall the backup client

On the ECS Instances tab, find the target instance. In the Actions column, choose ⋮ > Reinstall Client to install the client. After the installation is complete, the client status updates to Activated.

If the client status is abnormal, refer to the following documents for troubleshooting.

• Troubleshoot abnormal file backup client status

• How to check the running status of a Cloud Backup client

• How to view the default installation path and logs of a Cloud Backup client

Uninstall the client

On the ECS Instances tab, find the target instance. In the Actions column, choose ⋮ > Uninstall Client to uninstall the backup client. After the uninstallation is complete, the client status updates to Not Installed.

Delete a backup

Delete the backup data that is generated by a backup client.

1. On the Backup Plans tab, click the icon next to the target ECS instance.

2. In the Backup History, find the backup point you want to delete, click the backup point, select Delete, and confirm the deletion.

Set alerts for backup jobs

If the backup client or a backup or restore job has an abnormal status, configure alert notifications to be promptly notified of exceptions. On the ECS Instances tab, find the target instance. In the Actions column, choose ⋮ > Alert Settings.

Configure backup client parameters

To optimize client performance, find the target instance on the ECS Instances tab. In the Actions column, choose ⋮ > Client Settings. Use the default settings.

Backup vault replication

To mitigate risks to business continuity from regional disasters or account management issues, Cloud Backup supports cross-region and cross-account replication for general backup vaults. Once configured, data from the source vault is automatically synchronized to a replication target vault. This ensures data consistency across both locations and enables on-demand, cross-region data recovery using the target vault.

For general backup vaults storing ECS files, backup vault replication provides an effective solution for cross-region or cross-account disaster recovery. In addition, ECS file backup offers a range of enterprise-grade features, including Cross-account backup, Automatic archiving, KMS-based encryption, Immutable backup, Backup point virus detection, and Tag-based automatic resource association and backup.

Configure retry parameters for failed ECS file backups

If a file backup job fails due to factors such as an unstable network, configure retry parameters.

1. Log on to the server whose files you want to back up.

2. Switch to the default installation directory of the Cloud Backup client.

3. In the client folder, create a file named hbr.config.

   Note

   The hbr.config file is in the same directory as the hbrclient and ids executable programs.

4. Add the following parameters to the hbr.config file.

   Parameter	Description
   retry_times	For clients of version 2.16.0 and later, this is the number of data backup retries. The default value is 30.
   retry_interval	For clients of version 2.16.0 and later, this is the data backup retry interval. The default value is 1000 milliseconds.
   skip_error_files	Specifies whether to skip files that fail to be backed up. false (default): Does not skip files that fail to be backed up. true: Skips files that fail to be backed up.

   The following is a sample configuration of the hbr.config file:

   retry_times=30
   retry_interval=1000
   skip_error_files=false

References

• To back up ECS instances in batches, either locally or to a different region, or to quickly set up and replicate an ECS development and testing environment, use ECS instance backup.

• Disk backup creates crash-consistent backups for all types of disks of an ECS instance, including system disks and data disks. This feature lets you back up or restore an entire disk. For more information, see Create a disk backup.

• Cloud Backup provides resource plans for various backup scenarios. These plans offer significant discounts to help you save on costs. For more information, see Purchase resource plans.

• To back up MySQL, Oracle, or SQL Server databases in an ECS instance, see Back up a MySQL database, Back up an Oracle database, and Back up an SQL Server database. Before you back up a database, you must register the database in the Cloud Backup console.

• To back up files from a local server to the cloud, see Back up local files.