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Understanding backups and snapshots

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Understanding backups and snapshots

Understanding backups and snapshots

Data protection is one of the most important aspects of database management. Whether you’re preparing for a major application update, migrating between environments, or simply want to ensure you can recover from unexpected problems, having a solid backup and restore strategy is essential.

In this lesson, you will learn how to:

  • Understand Aura’s snapshot system for automated backups

  • Differentiate between scheduled and on-demand snapshots

  • Choose the right snapshot type for your use case

Understanding Aura snapshots

Snapshots are Aura’s backup mechanism. Your tier determines when snapshots are taken automatically and how long they are retained.

If you accidentally delete movie data or need to restore to a previous state, snapshots protect your data. They provide point-in-time recovery, allowing you to restore your instance to any snapshot.

snapshot

Scheduled and on-demand snapshots

Aura provides two types of snapshots:

Scheduled snapshots are taken automatically based on your tier:

  • Provide regular, predictable backup points

  • Require no manual intervention

  • Retention period determined by tier

On-demand snapshots are triggered manually:

  • Take a snapshot whenever you need one

  • Useful before risky operations or major changes

  • Same retention period as scheduled snapshots (except Free tier)

How it works in the background: Aura’s automation system: 1. Monitors your instance for scheduled snapshot times 2. Creates a point-in-time copy of your database 3. Stores the snapshot in encrypted cloud storage 4. Manages retention based on your tier

Snapshot frequency and retention by tier

Tier Scheduled Snapshots Retention

Free

None (on-demand only)

Latest snapshot only

Professional

Daily

7 days

Business Critical

Hourly

30 days

Virtual Dedicated Cloud

Hourly (days 1-7), Daily (days 8-60)

60 days

Longer retention periods give you more restore points. This means you can recover from data issues that occurred days or weeks ago, depending on your tier.

When to use each snapshot type

The decision tree helps you choose the right backup approach for your situation.

Use the diagram to determine whether you need an on-demand snapshot, should rely on scheduled snapshots, or need to export for long-term storage.

Backup decision tree showing when to use different snapshot types

Snapshot use cases

Use scheduled snapshots for:

  • Regular disaster recovery protection

  • Compliance requirements for periodic backups

  • General data protection without manual effort

Use on-demand snapshots for:

  • Before major application updates or schema changes

  • After significant data imports (like loading your movie dataset)

  • Before performing risky operations (bulk deletes, migrations)

  • Creating a known-good restore point before testing

Example for your recommendation engine: Create an on-demand snapshot after importing your movie data. This gives you a restore point if you need to revert changes to your recommendation queries or data model.

Check your understanding

Snapshot Types

What is the main difference between scheduled and on-demand snapshots?

  • ❏ Scheduled snapshots are faster to create

  • ✓ Scheduled snapshots are automatic, on-demand snapshots are manual

  • ❏ On-demand snapshots have longer retention periods

  • ❏ Scheduled snapshots can only be created on Professional tier

Hint

Scheduled snapshots happen automatically based on your tier, while on-demand snapshots require you to trigger them manually.

Solution

Scheduled snapshots are automatic, on-demand snapshots are manual.

Scheduled snapshots are taken automatically by Aura based on your tier (daily for Professional, hourly for Business Critical). On-demand snapshots are created manually when you need a backup point before risky operations.

Summary

In this lesson, you learned about Aura’s snapshot system for backups. You:

  • Understood snapshots: Learned that snapshots are Aura’s backup mechanism, providing point-in-time recovery

  • Differentiated snapshot types: Distinguished between scheduled (automatic) and on-demand (manual) snapshots

  • Learned tier differences: Understood how snapshot frequency and retention vary by tier

  • Chose the right approach: Learned when to use scheduled and on-demand snapshots

Snapshots protect your data. Scheduled snapshots provide automatic protection, while on-demand snapshots let you create restore points before risky operations.

For more information on snapshots, see the Neo4j Aura documentation on backup, export, and restore.

In the next lesson, you’ll learn how to create and manage snapshots, including exporting them for long-term storage.

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