Restore a HolyCloud snapshot

A snapshot is an instant capture of your HolyCloud VPS disk at a given moment. Restoring replaces the current VPS state with that of the snapshot — ideal after a failed update, bad configuration, or before testing risky software.

Prerequisites

• Access to the HolyCloud customer area (administrator credentials)
• At least one existing snapshot (manual or automatic depending on your plan)
• Understanding that restore overwrites current data created after the snapshot

Important: Export or back up (rsync, database dump) any recent work you want to keep before restoring.

When to use a snapshot?

| Situation | Recommended action |

|-----------|-------------------|

| OS or stack update fails | Restore pre-maintenance snapshot |

| Site broken after deployment | Pre-deployment snapshot |

| Testing invasive tool (Plesk, K3s) | Snapshot just before installation |

| Suspected ransomware / compromise | Healthy snapshot before infection + security audit |

Snapshots do not replace off-site backup (another datacenter, external storage).

Step 1: Create a snapshot (if not done yet)

1. Log in to the HolyCloud customer area
2. Open your VPS → Snapshots or Backups section
3. Click Create snapshot
4. Use a clear name: avant-maj-nginx-2026-06-29
5. Wait until creation finishes (status Completed)

On the VPS, a snapshot is transparent: no Linux command is required at creation time.

Step 2: Prepare for restore

Before restoring:

1. Stop critical services if possible (databases, cron) — optional; HolyCloud may shut down the VPS
2. Note the public IP (usually preserved after restore)
3. Warn users of downtime

From SSH (quick diagnostic before rollback):

uptime
df -h
sudo systemctl list-units --failed

Step 3: Restore from the customer area

1. Customer area → your VPS
2. Snapshots tab
3. Select the target snapshot (date / name)
4. Click Restore (or Revert)
5. Confirm the warning: changes after this date will be lost
6. Wait for the operation to finish (the VPS may reboot automatically)

Duration varies: from a few seconds to several minutes depending on disk size.

Step 4: Checks after restore

Reconnect via SSH:

ssh admin@IP_PUBLIQUE_VPS_HOLYCLOUD

Checks:

hostname
date
df -h
sudo systemctl status nginx
curl -I http://127.0.0.1

Verify:

• Expected package versions / config files
• SSL certificates still valid (if restore goes back far, Let's Encrypt may have expired — run sudo certbot renew)
• SSH keys and passwords: unchanged unless the snapshot is very old

Step 5: If restore is not available

HolyCloud alternatives:

• Restore from a full backup if your plan offers it
• Reinstall the VPS + restore your rsync / SQL backups

Local command (does not restore a hypervisor snapshot) — only your backed-up files:

rsync -avz user@backup-server:/backups/vps-prod/ /var/www/

Best practices

• Snapshot before each major change (kernel, Plesk, database migration)
• Do not keep snapshots indefinitely: respect your plan quotas
• Combine panel snapshots + rsync to a second HolyCloud VPS for resilience

Verification

• Site and services reachable from the Internet
• df -h consistent with expected state
• Application logs without critical errors: sudo journalctl -p err -b

HolyCloud support

• Restore blocked or in error: note time, snapshot name, open a support ticket
• VPS unreachable after restore: KVM console / rescue mode via customer area
• Wrong IP or DNS after rare operation: check panel and dig +short votredomaine.fr
• HolyCloud support: VPS ID, snapshot name/date, screenshot of panel error