Backing up a Windows VPS

What this is#

The backup doctrine is OS-agnostic, redundancy isn't backup, 3-2-1, dumps for databases, test your restores, this page is how it lands on Windows specifically, including the one platform difference that matters.

Layer 1: the Nightly Backups add-on#

Nightly Backups works on Windows VPS: a whole-server image every night, three-night retention, enabled from Extra Features for $5/month. The platform difference: Windows restores aren't self-service, the Backups panel doesn't cover Windows VPS, so when you need a restore or a file back, you open a ticket and we handle it. Worth knowing before the emergency: build the ticket round-trip into your recovery expectations, and keep your own layer (below) for the fast-path and the long history.

Layer 2: your own off-site backups#

• restic runs beautifully on Windows (downloads): the same encrypted, deduplicated, incremental backups to any S3-compatible bucket that the Linux doctrine recommends. Point it at your data folders, schedule it in Task Scheduler (daily, "run whether user is logged on or not"), and retention is the same one-liner. An AI chatbot drafts the PowerShell wrapper script and the scheduled-task setup from your paths in one go.
• Windows Server Backup (the built-in, add it via Server Manager → Features) does scheduled image and volume backups, its catch on a VPS is that it wants a destination, and backing up to the same disk protects against nothing. Use it only if you have somewhere real to point it; otherwise restic-to-cloud is the stronger default.
• Simple file mirroring in a pinch: robocopy /MIR to a remote share over a VPN, honest, but it's a mirror, not versioned history, deletions and ransomware mirror too.

Databases need their own dumps#

Same rule as everywhere, copying a live database's files gives you backups that may not restore:

• SQL Server: native backups are the way, BACKUP DATABASE MyDb TO DISK='D:\Backups\MyDb.bak', scheduled via SQL Server Agent (or Task Scheduler + sqlcmd on Express, which lacks Agent). Then your restic job ships the .bak files off-site, and, bonus, those dumps inside the nightly image make it cleanly restorable too.
• MySQL/PostgreSQL on Windows: mysqldump/pg_dump on the same schedule, identical logic to the Linux guidance.

Test the restore#

A .bak you've never restored and a bucket you've never pulled from are hopes, not backups. Twice a year: restore a database dump to a scratch name, pull a folder back from restic, and confirm the Task Scheduler job has actually been running (History tab, and make failures noisy, a dead-man's-switch ping at the end of the script).

Related questions#

• "How do I back up my Windows VPS?"
• "How do Nightly Backups restores work on Windows?"
• "Does restic work on Windows?"
• "How do I schedule SQL Server backups?"
• "Is Windows Server Backup enough on its own?"