Doing VM Backup in AWS

Here is ~~the full, step-by-step~~ guide to automate backups of your finmars-platform-vm, including both its EC2 settings (AMI) and its disk (EBS volumes), all in one place:

Sign in to AWS
- Open your browser and go to console.aws.amazon.com.
- Enter your AWS username and password.
Open AWS Backup
- In the top search box, type Backup.
- Click AWS Backup when it appears.
Create a new backup plan
1. In the left menu, click Backup plans.
2. Click Create backup plan.
3. Choose Build a new plan.
4. Give the plan a name, for example finmars-daily.
5. Under Backup rule, set:
  - Frequency: Daily
  - Time: 01:00
  - Retention: e.g. keep for 7 days
6. Click Create plan.
Edit the rule to back up both EC2 and EBS
1. Under your new plan, find the Backup rule you just made.
2. Click the three-dot menu next to it and choose Edit rule.
3. Scroll to Resource selection.
4. For Resource type, pick Amazon EC2.
  - This makes AWS Backup create an AMI of your instance.
5. Click Add another resource type.
6. Pick Amazon EBS.
  - This makes AWS Backup snapshot your volumes.
7. Click Update rule.
Assign your VM and its volumes
1. In your plan, click Assign resources.
2. Give the assignment a name, like finmars-vm-and-volumes.
3. Under Select resource IDs, choose:
  - Your finmars-platform-vm instance ID
  - The IDs of its EBS volumes (usually listed under the instance)
4. Click Assign backup.
Check your automated backups
- In the left menu, click Backup vaults to see where backups are stored.
- Click Protected resources to confirm your VM and volumes are listed.
Change or stop the plan
- To change schedule or retention, go to Backup plans, select finmars-daily, then edit the rule.
- To stop backups, select the plan and click Delete.

🎉 Now AWS Backup will run every day at 01:00. It will:

Create an AMI of your EC2 instance (so you can launch a new server with all settings intact)
Snapshot your EBS volumes (so your data and files are safe)