RDS Snapshot vs Automated Backups

Hello.

yes

Automated Backups: - Ideal for hands-off, regular backups with point-in-time recovery.

Manual Snapshots: - Best for on-demand backups with more control over timing and indefinite retention.

Hello,

Yes you are correct, The snapshots which we initiated are the Manual Snapshots and can Delete anytime when we don't need it.

The Snapshots created by the System are Automated snapshots, it creates at particular time period and we can't delete it manually. we have to set Backup Retention Period to delete those snapshots.

The key differences between RDS Snapshots (Manual Shnapshots) and Automated Backups (Automated Snapshots) are:

Purpose:

• RDS Snapshots are user-initiated, manual backups of your DB instance at a specific point in time.
• Automated Backups are automatically taken by RDS on a daily basis during a specified backup window.

Retention:

• RDS Snapshots are retained until you manually delete them.
• Automated Backups are retained for a specified retention period (default is 7 days, up to 35 days).

Restoration:

• RDS Snapshots can be used to restore your DB instance to the exact state captured in the snapshot.
• Automated Backups allow you to perform a point-in-time recovery, restoring your DB instance to any second during the retention period.

Storage:

• Both RDS Snapshots and Automated Backups are stored in Amazon S3.
• The storage used by Automated Backups is included in your RDS storage allocation, while Snapshots use additional storage.

Refer to below blog for more details -

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/amazon-rds-snapshot-restore-and-recovery-demystified/