# ElasticSearch cluster backup

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Tags:** snapshot-and-restore\
**Created:** [November 8, 2023, 4:49am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680 "2023-11-08T04:49:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![laurentiusoica](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/laurentiusoica/32/27342_2.png) [@laurentiusoica](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/laurentiusoica)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 4:49am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680/1 "2023-11-08T04:49:38Z")

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Hi,

For an Elasticsearch cluster, is it a supported way to backup the cluster by completely shutting it down and take data volumes snapshots?

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**Author:** ![Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/christian_dahlqvist/32/4617_2.png) [@Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Christian_Dahlqvist)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 6:42am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680/2 "2023-11-08T06:42:25Z")

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This may have worked in very old versions of Elasticsearch, but has as far as I know never been supported. The only supported backup method for Elasticsearch is to use [the snapshot/restore APIs](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/snapshot-restore.html).

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**Author:** ![laurentiusoica](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/laurentiusoica/32/27342_2.png) [@laurentiusoica](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/laurentiusoica)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 7:32am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680/3 "2023-11-08T07:32:19Z")

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I'm familiar with the documentation on backups, however, this particular paragraph caught my attention:

> A copy of the data directories of a cluster’s nodes does not work as a backup because it is not a consistent representation of their contents at a single point in time. You cannot fix this by shutting down nodes while making the copies, nor by taking atomic filesystem-level snapshots, because Elasticsearch has consistency requirements that span the whole cluster. You must use the built-in snapshot functionality for cluster backups.

If I power down the whole cluster, wouldn't that ensure consistency across the cluster?

The way I understand this is, as long as [full cluster restart](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/restart-cluster.html) is a supported capability, then creating volume snapshots while all the nodes are offline should naturally follow.

Is there something I've failed to consider?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/christian_dahlqvist/32/4617_2.png) [@Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Christian_Dahlqvist)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 7:34am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680/4 "2023-11-08T07:34:24Z")

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No, I think you are right. Powering down the full cluster before taking snapshot may work.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 7:34am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elasticsearch-cluster-backup/346680/5 "2023-12-06T07:34:52Z")

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