How do I retain automated snapshots of my Amazon RDS DB instance for a longer period?

Resolution

Amazon RDS creates and saves the automated snapshots of your DB instance during the backup window of your DB instance. Amazon RDS saves the automated snapshots based on the backup retention period that you specify for the instance.

Activate automated backups

To activate automated backups, set the backup retention period to a positive, non-zero value. You can set the backup retention period from 1 to 35 days. The maximum retention period available for automated snapshots is 35 days.

When you turn on automated backups for your DB instance, Amazon RDS automatically performs a daily snapshot of your data and captures transaction logs. When you initiate a point-in-time recovery, Amazon RDS applies transaction logs to an appropriate daily backup to restore your DB instance to the specified time.

Copy the automated backup

To retain a specific automated snapshot for longer than 35 days, you can copy the snapshot. Amazon RDS stores the copy as a manual snapshot. You can retain the manual snapshot for as long as you require. Manual snapshots aren't subject to the backup retention period and don't expire.

It's a best practice to export snapshot data to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for long-term backups for the following DB engines:

• Amazon RDS for MariaDB
• Amazon RDS for MySQL
• Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

Note: If Amazon RDS no longer supports the major version of your DB engine, then you can't restore to that version from a snapshot.

Create a manual snapshot

You can also create a manual snapshot of your DB instance to retain the data for a longer period of time.

Related information

Introduction to backups

Amazon RDS FAQs - Automatic backups and database snapshots