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This page provides an overview of VM backup and restore operations in Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped.
GDC supports the ability to back up and restore
VM-based and container-based workloads. GDC VM backup
supports the backup and restoration of multiple VM or VM disk snapshots.
Backups are managed through backup plans, which let you schedule regular
backups or create backups manually. You can restore entire VMs, creating a new
instance with the same configuration and disk state as the backup, or restore
disk snapshots.
GDC backup for VMs offer the following features:
Support for different VM instance configurations and sizes.
Customer data stored in primary storage in the form of Kubernetes
persistent volumes and VM disk images.
Local snapshots for VM disks.
Backup and restoration process
You can perform backup and restore processes in the GDC console or
the API. Users must have the correct
predefined role
to perform certain backup and restore operations.
To back up and restore VM and container workloads, follow these general steps:
Create a backup repository.
Create a backup plan that references the backup repository.
Either let the backup plan automatically create scheduled backups or
manually create a backup.
Back up disks in the form of snapshots.
Restore VMs or snapshots based on the backups.
Backup repository overview
Before you can create backups or snapshots, you must create a backup
repository. A backup repository contains configuration information such as the
bucket name, region, and storage endpoint. The backup repository name is
provided as an input parameter when you create a VM backup plan.
For more information, see
Create a backup repository.
Manage VM backup plans
Backup plans provide the configuration and location for backups. A backup plan
contains a backup configuration including the VMs to back up. Backup plans
define a regular schedule for which backups of VMs occur. You can also manually
create backups at any time. For more information, see
Plan a set of VM backups.
Restore a VM or snapshot
Users can restore their VM workloads or disk snapshots for the backups that
were created manually or as part of their scheduled backup plans:
For VM workloads, the restoration process creates a new VM with the same
configuration and disk state as the backup. For more information, see
Create a VM from a backup.
For disk snapshots, the restore creates a new disk with the same
configuration and disk state as the snapshot. For more information, see
Restore from a snapshot.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped supports backing up and restoring both VM-based and container-based workloads, including multiple VM or VM disk snapshots.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eVM backups are managed through backup plans, enabling scheduled or manual backups, and they support various VM configurations and sizes.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe process involves creating a backup repository, setting up a backup plan, and then creating scheduled or manual backups of VM disks as snapshots.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers can restore either entire VMs, creating new instances with the same configuration and disk state as the backup, or they can restore disk snapshots.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBoth backup and restore operations are available in the GDC console or API, requiring appropriate user roles for execution.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Overview\n\nThis page provides an overview of VM backup and restore operations in Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped.\n\nGDC supports the ability to back up and restore\nVM-based and container-based workloads. GDC VM backup\nsupports the backup and restoration of multiple VM or VM disk snapshots.\nBackups are managed through backup plans, which let you schedule regular\nbackups or create backups manually. You can restore entire VMs, creating a new\ninstance with the same configuration and disk state as the backup, or restore\ndisk snapshots.\n\nGDC backup for VMs offer the following features:\n\n- Support for different VM instance configurations and sizes.\n- Customer data stored in primary storage in the form of Kubernetes persistent volumes and VM disk images.\n- Local snapshots for VM disks.\n\nBackup and restoration process\n------------------------------\n\nYou can perform backup and restore processes in the GDC console or\nthe API. Users must have the correct\n[predefined role](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform/pa-user/iam/role-descriptions)\nto perform certain backup and restore operations.\n\nTo back up and restore VM and container workloads, follow these general steps:\n\n1. Create a backup repository.\n2. Create a backup plan that references the backup repository.\n3. Either let the backup plan automatically create scheduled backups or manually create a backup.\n4. Back up disks in the form of snapshots.\n5. Restore VMs or snapshots based on the backups.\n\nBackup repository overview\n--------------------------\n\nBefore you can create backups or snapshots, you must create a backup\nrepository. A backup repository contains configuration information such as the\nbucket name, region, and storage endpoint. The backup repository name is\nprovided as an input parameter when you create a VM backup plan.\nFor more information, see\n[Create a backup repository](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/create-backup-repository).\n\nManage VM backup plans\n----------------------\n\nBackup plans provide the configuration and location for backups. A backup plan\ncontains a backup configuration including the VMs to back up. Backup plans\ndefine a regular schedule for which backups of VMs occur. You can also manually\ncreate backups at any time. For more information, see\n[Plan a set of VM backups](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform/pa-user/backup-plan-vm#plan-vm-backup).\n\nRestore a VM or snapshot\n------------------------\n\nUsers can restore their VM workloads or disk snapshots for the backups that\nwere created manually or as part of their scheduled backup plans:\n\n- For VM workloads, the restoration process creates a new VM with the same configuration and disk state as the backup. For more information, see [Create a VM from a backup](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/create-vm-from-backup).\n- For disk snapshots, the restore creates a new disk with the same configuration and disk state as the snapshot. For more information, see [Restore from a snapshot](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/restore-from-a-snapshot).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- [Create a backup repository](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/platform-application/pa-ao-operations/vm-backup/create-backup-repository)"]]
