> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.polystack.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ironcore Backup Solution User Guide

> Create on-demand and scheduled backups, browse snapshots, restore full VMs or single files, and monitor backup jobs using Ironcore Backup Solution.

<p style={{ fontSize: '1.25rem', fontWeight: 700, marginBottom: '0.75rem' }}>Overview</p>

Ironcore Backup Solution (IBS) protects compute instances, system containers, and physical
hosts in your project. As a project member you create backups, browse the snapshot history,
and restore data using either the Dashboard or the CLI — without coordinating with the
infrastructure team.

This guide covers creating backups, scheduling recurring jobs, restoring single files or
full VMs, and monitoring backup job status.

<Note>
  Backups are written to a datastore your administrator has provisioned. Encryption keys,
  retention policies, and replication targets are configured platform-wide. Contact your
  administrator if you need access to a specific datastore or namespace.
</Note>

***

<p style={{ fontSize: '1.25rem', fontWeight: 700, marginBottom: '0.75rem' }}>In This Guide</p>

<CardGroup cols={4}>
  <Card title="How It Works" icon="info" href="/services/ironcore-backup/user-guide/how-it-works" color="#bf9667">
    Understand block-level change tracking, deduplication, and the full backup-to-restore flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create a Backup" icon="copy" href="/services/ironcore-backup/user-guide/create-backup" color="#bf9667">
    Create on-demand backups of virtual machines, system containers, and physical hosts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Backup Jobs" icon="calendar" href="/services/ironcore-backup/user-guide/backup-jobs" color="#bf9667">
    Schedule recurring daily incremental and weekly full backup jobs with retention windows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Restore Options" icon="rotate-ccw" href="/services/ironcore-backup/user-guide/restore-options" color="#bf9667">
    Restore a full VM with live-restore, browse snapshots, and recover individual files.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor Jobs" icon="activity" href="/services/ironcore-backup/user-guide/monitoring-jobs" color="#bf9667">
    Track running backup and restore tasks, view job history, and read verification reports.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/services/ironcore-backup/user-guide/troubleshooting" color="#bf9667">
    Resolve failed backups, restore errors, and encryption key access issues.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

<p style={{ fontSize: '1.25rem', fontWeight: 700, marginBottom: '0.75rem' }}>Key Concepts</p>

<CardGroup cols={4}>
  <Card title="Snapshot" icon="camera" color="#bf9667">
    A point-in-time backup of a single workload (VM, container, or host). Each snapshot
    is uniquely identified by its source ID and timestamp.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Backup Group" icon="layers" color="#bf9667">
    All snapshots of the same source (for example, all backups of `vm/12345`) grouped
    together for browsing and retention.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Datastore" icon="database" color="#bf9667">
    The storage location where backups are written. Each datastore can host multiple
    backup groups and is governed by an access policy.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Namespace" icon="folder" color="#bf9667">
    A logical partition inside a datastore. Useful for separating production, staging,
    and per-team backups while sharing the same deduplication pool.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

<p style={{ fontSize: '1.25rem', fontWeight: 700, marginBottom: '0.75rem' }}>Quick Reference</p>

| Action            | Dashboard Path                 | CLI Command                         |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- |
| Create a backup   | Backups > Snapshots > Create   | `ironcore-backup backup create`     |
| Schedule a job    | Backups > Jobs > New Job       | `ironcore-backup job create`        |
| Browse a snapshot | Backups > Snapshots > Open     | `ironcore-backup snapshot show`     |
| Restore a file    | Snapshot detail > File Browser | `ironcore-backup file restore`      |
| Restore a VM      | Snapshot detail > Restore VM   | `ironcore-backup vm restore`        |
| Live-restore      | Snapshot detail > Live-Restore | `ironcore-backup vm restore --live` |

***

<p style={{ fontSize: '1.25rem', fontWeight: 700, marginBottom: '0.75rem' }}>Next Steps</p>

<CardGroup cols={4}>
  <Card title="Ironcore Backup Admin Guide" icon="shield-check" href="/services/ironcore-backup/admin-guide" color="#bf9667">
    Configure datastores, retention, replication, and tape archival across the platform.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Ironcore Backup Overview" icon="layers" href="/services/ironcore-backup" color="#bf9667">
    Service overview, feature summary, and getting started.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>