Data loss can happen in countless ways—hardware failures, accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or even natural disasters. At DanubeData, we've built our backup strategy around the industry-proven 3-2-1 rule to ensure your data is protected against any scenario.
What is the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?
The 3-2-1 rule is a data protection best practice that's been trusted by IT professionals for decades:
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different storage media types
- 1 copy stored offsite
This approach ensures that no single point of failure can result in permanent data loss.
How DanubeData Implements 3-2-1 Backups
Every managed service on our platform—whether it's a Redis cache, MySQL database, or VPS instance—automatically benefits from our three-tier backup architecture.
| Copy | Storage Type | Location | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Live Data | TopoLVM Block Storage | Primary Cluster | Production workload |
| 2. Local Snapshot | CSI VolumeSnapshot | Same Cluster | Fast recovery |
| 3. Offsite Backup | S3 Object Storage | Separate Location | Disaster recovery |
Copy 1: Your Live Data
Your primary data runs on enterprise-grade TopoLVM storage within our Kubernetes clusters. This provides high-performance block storage with built-in redundancy at the storage layer.
Copy 2: Local Snapshots
When you create a snapshot (manually or automatically), we use copy-on-write technology to create an instant point-in-time copy of your data with zero downtime.
Before the snapshot is taken, we ensure data consistency:
| Service Type | Persistence Command | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Redis / Valkey | BGSAVE |
Background save to disk |
| Dragonfly | SAVE |
Synchronous save to disk |
| MySQL / MariaDB | FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCK |
Flush all tables and acquire lock |
| PostgreSQL | CHECKPOINT |
Force WAL flush to disk |
| VPS Instances | QEMU Guest Agent | Filesystem quiescence |
These local snapshots are instant—your services continue running without interruption.
Copy 3: Offsite S3 Backup
Here's where the magic happens. Every local snapshot automatically triggers an offsite backup to S3 storage using Velero with CSI snapshotMoveData. This process:
- Takes your local snapshot
- Transfers the data to geographically separate S3 storage
- Maintains the backup with configurable retention policies
This offsite copy protects you against complete data center failures, ensuring your data survives even catastrophic events.
The Two Media Types
Our architecture satisfies the "2 different media types" requirement:
| Media Type | Technology | Optimized For |
|---|---|---|
| Block Storage | TopoLVM on NVMe | Performance & low latency |
| Object Storage | S3-compatible | Durability & long-term retention |
Automated Protection
You can enable automated snapshots for any instance with a single toggle. Once enabled:
- Snapshots are created daily at a scheduled time
- Each snapshot automatically triggers an offsite backup
- Old snapshots are cleaned up based on your retention policy
- TTL-based garbage collection ensures efficient storage usage
No manual intervention required—set it and forget it.
Multiple Recovery Options
When you need to restore, we offer flexibility depending on your scenario:
| Recovery Type | Speed | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Local Snapshot | Fastest | Recent backups, quick recovery |
| Offsite S3 Backup | Minutes to hours* | Disaster recovery, cluster failure |
*Depends on data size
Local Snapshot Restore
We handle the entire process automatically:
- Scale down your instance via GitOps
- Replace the storage volume with the snapshot
- Scale back up with your data restored
Offsite Backup Restore
For disaster recovery scenarios when local snapshots aren't available:
- Velero downloads your data from S3
- Recreates your storage in the target cluster
- You can recover even if an entire cluster is lost
Verify Your Protection
Every snapshot in your dashboard shows its 3-2-1 compliance status. You can see at a glance:
- Whether the local snapshot is ready
- Whether the offsite backup has completed
- The backup URL for disaster recovery reference
What This Means for Your Workloads
- Databases: Point-in-time recovery for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB with consistent snapshots
- Cache Instances: Protect your Redis, Valkey, or Dragonfly data against accidental flushes or failures
- VPS Instances: Full system snapshots including OS, applications, and configurations
- Compliance: Meet data protection requirements with a proven, auditable backup strategy
- Peace of Mind: Sleep well knowing your data survives hardware failures, human errors, and disasters
Getting Started
Automated snapshots can be enabled on any DanubeData instance with a single toggle. Visit your instance settings to:
- Enable/disable automated snapshots
- Set your preferred retention period
- View snapshot history and 3-2-1 compliance status
- Restore from any available snapshot
The Bottom Line
Data protection shouldn't be an afterthought. With DanubeData's 3-2-1 backup implementation, every instance automatically gets:
- 3 copies of data (live + local snapshot + offsite)
- 2 media types (block storage + object storage)
- 1 offsite copy (geographically separate S3)
Your data is your business. We make sure it's protected.
Ready to secure your infrastructure? Deploy your first instance and enable automated backups today.