Backups

Purpose

• Schedule automated backups for virtual machines.
• Control how long restore points are retained.
• Assign VMs to a policy by tag rules or by manual selection.
• Review the backup run history for each policy.

Prerequisites

• Minimum permission to view backup policies: dataprotection.backups.policies.read
• Permission to view backup jobs: dataprotection.backups.jobs.read
• Permission to create a backup plan: dataprotection.backups.policies.create
• Permission to assign VMs to a policy: dataprotection.backups.jobs.create
• Permission to edit a backup plan: dataprotection.backups.policies.update
• Permission to delete a backup plan: dataprotection.backups.policies.delete
• At least one storage pool is available to hold the backups.

View backup policies

1. Open Data Protection → Backups.
2. Review the list of backup policies and their storage pools.
3. Select one or more policies and use Delete to remove them (confirm in the dialog).
4. Expected result: the current backup policies for the active account are listed.

Create a backup plan

The create page defines the plan and, optionally, its VM assignment in one flow.

1. Open Data Protection → Backups, then select Create.
2. Under Plan Information, enter a Plan Name, an optional Description, and select the Storage Pool that will hold the backups.
3. Under Schedule, set the frequency (daily, weekly or monthly), the run time, the days, and the times per day.
4. Under Restore Points, set the retention sliders (Days, Weeks, Months and Years are shown according to the chosen frequency); the retention timeline graph previews how long each restore point is kept.
5. Optionally assign a resource group and add manual tags under Tags.
6. Under VM Assignment, choose the VMs to protect using tag rules (with an AND/OR match mode) and/or by selecting individual VMs; the summary shows the manually selected and tag-matched counts.
7. Select Save to create the plan.
8. Expected result: the backup plan is created and its scheduled runs are queued for the assigned VMs.

Assign VMs to a policy

1. Open Data Protection → Backups and open a backup policy.
2. On the Details tab, select Assign VMs.
3. Add tag rules to match VMs automatically, and/or select individual VMs manually.
4. Select Save Assignments.
5. Expected result: the assigned VMs are protected by the policy; a VM matched by both the manual and tag-based lists is backed up only once per job.

View a policy's details and jobs

A backup policy opens with two tabs: Details and Jobs.

1. Open Data Protection → Backups and open a backup policy.
2. Use the Details tab to review the schedule, next run, the retention timeline, and the VMs assigned (grouped by compute pool).
3. Use the Jobs tab to review the Backup Job History timeline and the table of completed backup jobs.
4. Expected result: the policy's configuration and its backup run history are shown.

Best Practices

• Use tag-based assignment so newly tagged VMs are protected automatically, and manual selection for one-off VMs.
• Set retention (Days, Weeks, Months, Years) to match your recovery requirements, and review the retention timeline before saving.
• Choose a storage pool backed by a Proxmox Backup Server.
• Remember a VM matched by both manual selection and a tag rule is backed up only once per job.
• Confirm scheduled runs complete on the policy's Jobs tab or in Task Manager.