Aurora Backups

Automated Backups

• Always enabled with a retention period from 1 to 35 days (cannot be disabled).

• Stored in Amazon S3 and managed by Aurora.

• Includes continuous backup with transaction logs, enabling point-in-time recovery (PITR) to any second within the retention window.

• Backups have no performance impact because they are taken from Aurora’s distributed storage layer.

Manual DB Snapshots

• Created manually at any time by the user.

• Retained indefinitely until explicitly deleted.

• Can be restored to a new Aurora cluster or instance at any time.

• Useful for long-term retention, environment cloning, or pre-deployment safety.