How do I retain the 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. The automated snapshots are saved according to the backup retention period that you specify for the instance.

Activating automated backups

You can activate automated backups by setting the backup retention period to a positive, non-zero value. To activate automated snapshots and set the backup retention period, see Enabling automated backups. You can set the backup retention period from 1 to 35 days. The maximum retention period currently available for automated snapshots is 35 days. When automated backups are turned on for your DB Instance, Amazon RDS automatically performs a full, daily snapshot of your data and captures transaction logs. When you initiate a point-in-time recovery, transaction logs are applied to the most appropriate daily backup to restore your DB instance to the specific time that you request.

Copying the automated backup

To retain a particular automated snapshot for longer than 35 days, you can copy the snapshot. The copy is stored as a manual snapshot. You can retain this manual snapshot for as long as you need. Unlike automated backups, manual snapshots aren't subject to the backup retention period. Manual snapshots don't expire.

Note: For very long-term backups of RDS for MariaDB, RDS for MySQL, and RDS for PostgreSQL data, it's a best practice to export the snapshot data to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). If the major version of your DB engine is no longer supported, then you can't restore to that version from a snapshot. For more information, see Exporting DB snapshot data to Amazon S3.

Creating a manual snapshot

You can also choose to create a manual snapshot of your DB instance to retain the data for a longer period of time. For more information, see Creating a DB snapshot.

Related information

Working with backups

Amazon RDS FAQs - Automatic backups and database snapshots