Backups & Snapshots

Protecting your VMs and containers with regular backups is essential. Proxmox includes built-in backup and snapshot tools. Also, it's good idea to connect Proxmox Backup Server if you have an option of running another server. This way backups are stored off site. 
 For configuring Proxmox Backup Server with Virtual Environment click here for a guide 
 Snapshots 
 Snapshots save the state of a VM or container at a point in time. They are fast but stored on the same storage as the VM — not a true backup. 
 
 Select a VM or container in the web console 
 Go to the Snapshots tab 
 Click Take Snapshot 
 Name the snapshot and add an optional description 
 Check 'Include RAM' if you want to capture the running memory state (only for VMs) 
 Click Take Snapshot 
 To store: select the snapshot and click Rollback. 
 
 Note : Snapshots use disk space and can impact VM performance over time. Do not rely on snapshots as your only backup strategy, rather as a quick reverse when you're working or configuring something on a VM. 
   
 Manual Backups 
   
 
 Select a VM or container 
 Go to the Backup tab 
 Click Backup Now 
 Select storage (e.g., local), backup mode, and compression 
 Click Backup-  Proxmox creates a compressed backup archive 
 
 Note : If you have PBS connected to your Proxmox system, you can change the Storage from Local to PBS. 
   
 Scheduled Backups 
   
 
 Go to Datacenter > Backup 
 Click Add 
 Configure:     • Node: your node or all     • Storage: where to save backups     • Schedule: e.g., daily at 2:00 AM     • Selection: All VMs, specific IDs, or exclude certain VMs     • Retention: set how many backups to keep (e.g., keep last 7) 
 Click Create-  the schedule is saved and runs automatically 
 
   
 Backup Modes 
 
  Stop — stops the VM, backs up, then restarts. Cleanest backup. 
 Suspend — suspends the VM briefly during backup. Less downtime. 
 Snapshot — VM keeps running. Fastest but may have slight consistency risk.