You the customer are responsible for your account's files, databases, emails and any other data related to your service or domains. ASPnix performs regular server images for quick restoration in the event of hardware failure and runs nightly backups of SQL databases kept on a 30-day rolling period. These systems exist primarily for our infrastructure recovery needs. They do not replace a customer-owned backup strategy, and we provide no guarantee that we can restore your data.

This policy protects against data loss scenarios while setting clear expectations. Our backups may be incomplete or out of date depending on timing and exclusions. Relying exclusively on host-side backups carries risk that you must accept if you request restoration. For all account types, maintain independent, tested, and up-to-date copies of critical data stored off-site.

#Shared Hosting Backup Exclusions

Shared hosting backup routines deliberately exclude several categories of data to control storage usage and focus on core web content. Suspended accounts are not backed up and their content is ignored entirely. If your account is suspended we cannot offer any backups until the account is paid in full plus any restoration or retrieval fees. Terminated accounts may or may not have retrievable data.

The following items and file types are excluded from shared hosting backups:

  • Files larger than 1GB
  • Any video or audio files such as mp3, mp4, avi, mkv, .webm, .vob, .mov and many other video file formats
  • SQL Server .bak files
  • WebsitePanel backup files (.wspak)
  • IIS log files and any other files that end in *.log
  • ISO files
  • Certain directories such as backup or archive-named directories and their contents

SQL databases themselves are backed up nightly and retained for 30 days. A common pitfall is uploading large media libraries or log directories expecting them to be protected by our systems. These exclusions mean you must handle backup and versioning of such assets yourself.

#VPS and Dedicated Server Backup Rules

VPS (Virtual Cloud Servers) are backed up each night using Altaro's Hyper-V Backup. These backups allow full virtual machine restoration or extraction of individual files, but only from Windows virtual machines. Restoration is subject to the standard backup fee. Customers may opt for a custom backup solution with additional fees.

Dedicated servers are not backed up automatically. It is the customer's responsibility to maintain a backup solution or contact ASPnix to discuss backup options. In both VPS and dedicated environments, the same fundamental rule applies: you own the data and must ensure its safety beyond what our default systems provide.

#Restoration Process and Fees

We can retrieve deleted websites, databases and email accounts from our backup images. However there is a $50 per incident or item fee. For instance, if you need two databases retrieved the total would be $100. Backups may or may not be complete or up-to-date; this is a risk the customer must take when asking the host to restore content, files, databases or email accounts.

We make no guarantee that we can restore any of your data. Always keep your own valid up-to-date backup. If an account is terminated, retrieval is not assured. Testing restores from your own backups periodically is the only reliable way to confirm recoverability.

Implement automated routines that export databases and copy critical files to locations outside the hosting environment. For SQL Server databases, schedule regular backups using native Transact-SQL commands and immediately download the resulting files. This avoids dependence on excluded file types and gives you full control.

tsql 
BACKUP DATABASE [YourDatabaseName]
TO DISK = 'D:\LocalBackups\YourDatabaseName.bak'
WITH INIT, FORMAT, NAME = 'Full Backup';

On VPS or dedicated Windows servers, use PowerShell or built-in tools to create scheduled archives of web directories, excluding log and temporary folders. Store copies on separate storage or cloud endpoints you control. Document and test the entire restore process at least quarterly so you are not reliant on our $50-per-item retrieval service.

If you have any questions about this policy please contact our sales department. Treat provider backups as a last-resort recovery option only. A disciplined customer backup regimen remains the primary safeguard for production data.