# Digital Ocean droplet backups or Discourse backups?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/digital-ocean-droplet-backups-or-discourse-backups/175274
**Category:** Self-hosting
**Tags:** backups
**Created:** [January 6, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/digital-ocean-droplet-backups-or-discourse-backups/175274 "2021-01-06T15:20:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nacho\_Caballero](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Nacho_Caballero)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/digital-ocean-droplet-backups-or-discourse-backups/175274/1 "2021-01-06T15:20:38Z")
I had a few hours of downtime in my site today due to some [docker/nginx issue](https://meta.discourse.org/t/site-not-accessible-from-browser-docker-problems/175264/1) and at some point I considered restoring from a backup.
Luckily, I was able to get it working again, but it made me wonder what would have been the right restore procedure.
I currently have [daily automatic Discourse backups set up with S3](https://meta.discourse.org/t/configure-automatic-backups-for-discourse/14855) and also weekly Digital Ocean droplet backups, but if for some reason I can’t access my discourse admin panel, **how should I restore a previous backup?**
I’m assuming I’d have to do this:
1. Download the latest backup from S3
2. Create a new Digital Ocean droplet
3. install Discourse from scratch
4. Restore the backup
I’d also have to replace a previously saved version of my `app.yml` and `/etc/nginx/sites-available/default` and modify my DNS and mailer settings? Is there a simpler way?
I guess another option would be to restore a droplet backup directly (which I assume would include the discourse data), but since these happen only weekly, I’d lose a lot more data.
One option could be to set up daily/hourly backups with [weap.io](http://weap.io) or [snapshooter.io](http://snapshooter.io). Is this recommended?
I’d love to know if there’s anything I’m missing or if I should consider another approach.
---
### Author:  [@omarfilip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/omarfilip)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/digital-ocean-droplet-backups-or-discourse-backups/175274/2 "2021-01-06T17:41:27Z")
> [@Nacho\_Caballero](#):
>
> modify my DNS and mailer settings?
Using a floating IP at DigitalOcean is the way to go:
> **[Reserved IP Support | DigitalOcean Documentation](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/floating-ips/)**
>
> Get help with technical support and answers to frequently asked questions.
> [@Nacho\_Caballero](#):
>
> restore a droplet backup directly (which I assume would include the discourse data)
Yes, a droplet backup includes everything.
Before major changes, I take a droplet snapshot at DigitalOcean, so that if things go wrong, it’s easy to restore.