About Backup and DR Service backup plans
This document provides an overview about how to back up Compute Engineinstances using backup plans in Backup and DR Service.
Use Backup and DR Service backup plans to create rule-based and indelible backupsof your Compute Engine instances and then store those backups in asecure and isolated storage locations.
To back up your instances for system maintenance orinstance cloning, then usemachine imagesinstead. Learn more about choosing the correctdata protection optionfor your use case.
Limitations
- You can use only those backup plans that are in the same region as theinstance.
Backup and DR Service doesn't support backing up Compute Engine instances to abackup vault if the instance uses any of the followingconfigurations:
- Instances with Extreme Persistent Disk volumes attached.
- Instances with any Hyperdisk Extreme volumes attached.
- Instances that use a C3D, H3, A3, A4, or Z3 machine type.
- Instances with customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) orcustomer-supplied encryption keys (CSEK).
- Instances without any attached disks.
- Instances larger than 200 tebibytes (TiB).
What are Backup and DR backup plans for?
Backup and DR backup plans provide enhanced protection againstcyberattacks by storing immutable and indelible backups of yourCompute Engine instances. You also get an out-of-the-box backup solutionwith access to seamless backup management across projects.
Backup and DR backup plans let you define advanced backup strategiesto store your Compute Engine instances in secure storage locationscalled backup vaults. You can configure backup rules such as thefollowing:
- How often to back up your instance resources
- How long to retain the backups
- Where and how to replicate the backed up data
You first define your backup rules in the backup plan configuration. By doingso, you can configure how frequently you want to schedule backups for yourCompute Engine instance. You then apply that plan to your instances. TheBackup and DR then automatically backs up your instance resources andretains those backups based on these rules.
After you apply a backup plan to an instance, you can also use the backup planto create on-demand backups of that instance.
To learn more about backup plans and backup vaults, seeBackup and DR overviewin the Backup and DR Service documentation.
To learn how use your instance's backup plan to schedule or create a backup ina backup vault, seeBack up Compute Engine instances to a backup vault.
What are the ways to apply backup plans to instances?
You can apply backup plans to both new and existing instances, as follows:
- For new instances, you canapply a backup plan while creating the instance.
- For existing instances, you can edit the instance configuration tochange the applied backup plan(Preview).
What's next
- Learn how toapply a backup plan while creating an instance.
- Learn how tochange the backup plan that's applied to an instance(Preview).
- Learn about the otherinstance protection options provided by Backup and DR.
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Last updated 2025-12-15 UTC.