Types of Backup Policy in OCI (Block Volume)

In OCI, a Backup Policy defines how often backups are taken and how long they are retained for block volumes.

1. Bronze Policy

• Frequency: Weekly backups

• Retention: Short duration (few weeks)

• Use Case: Non-critical data, dev/test environments

👉 Example: A test server where losing a few days of data is acceptable.

2. Silver Policy

• Frequency: Daily backups + Weekly backups

• Retention: Medium duration

• Use Case: Normal production workloads

👉 Example: A web application where daily recovery is required.

3. Gold Policy

• Frequency: Daily + Weekly + Monthly backups

• Retention: Long duration

• Use Case: Critical business applications

👉 Example: A banking or e-commerce database where long-term data safety is important.

In Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, custom backup policies are also available when predefined policies (Bronze, Silver, Gold) do not meet specific business requirements.

A Custom Backup Policy allows you to define your own backup schedule and retention rules based on business requirements.

You can configure:

• Backup frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, etc.)

• Retention duration (days, weeks, months)

• Provides full flexibility compared to default policies

👉 Example: A company requires:

• Daily backups (retain for 7 days)

• Weekly backups (retain for 4 weeks)

• Monthly backups (retain for 12 months)

This requirement does not exactly match default policies, so a custom backup policy is created.

Policy	Backup Frequency	Retention	Use Case
Bronze	Weekly	Short-term	Dev/Test
Silver	Daily + Weekly	Medium-term	Normal production
Gold	Daily + Weekly + Monthly	Long-term	Critical workloads
Custom	User-defined	User-defined	Specific business needs

In OCI Block Volume backups, Automatic policies (like Bronze, Silver, Gold) are scheduled backups taken at defined intervals. Manual backups are taken on-demand, usually before deployment or any major change for safety.

Backup Type	Description	Use Case
Automatic	Scheduled backups (Bronze/Silver/Gold policies)	Regular data protection
Manual	On-demand backup taken by user	Before deployment or changes

Custom policy is also automatic (scheduled); the only difference is that we define the backup schedule ourselves.

OCI Custom Backup Policy

Steps to create Custom Backup Policy

1. Create Backup Policy

• Go to Storage → Block Volumes → Backup Policies
• Click Create Backup Policy
• Enter: - Name - Compartment - (Optional) Cross-region copy
• Click on Create Backup Policy

🔹 2. Add Backup Schedule

Schedule is added after policy creation

• Open the created policy
• Click Add Schedule

Configure:

• Schedule Type → Daily / Weekly / Monthly (Only one at a time, but multiple schedules can be added)
• Backup Type Incremental (Recommended) → Takes backup of only changed data since last backup → Faster and uses less storage

Full Backup

→ Takes complete backup every time → Slower and consumes more storage

• Time Zone → Time Zone Regional Data Center Time (Recommended) → Uses your local region time (e.g., IST in India) → Easier to understand and manage UTC → Universal time standard, can be confusing in daily operations
• Hours of the Day → → Defines backup time (e.g., 2 AM daily)
• Retention (Days) → → Defines how long backup is stored (e.g., 7 days)

3. Add Multiple Schedules If you want Use Add Schedule again to add: Daily + Weekly + Monthly

4. Attach Policy to Block Volume

• Go to Storage → Block Volumes
• Open your Block Volume
• Click Edit Block Volume
• Select your Custom Backup Policy from dropdown
• Click Update

🔹 Key Points

• A volume can have only one backup policy at a time
• Existing backups are not deleted when policy is changed
• Backups run automatically based on:
  • Schedule
  • Retention rules

👉 “In OCI, a custom backup policy is created, schedules are added, and then the policy is attached to a block volume to enable automated backups.”