July 11, 2025
Handy Backup
Knowing how to back up AWS is essential for any organization relying on cloud infrastructure. While AWS provides high availability, it doesn't protect you from accidental deletion, misconfigurations, or ransomware. Imagine a developer mistakenly removing an S3 bucket containing archived reports — without a backup, recovery could be impossible.
In this article, we’ll walk through how to back up AWS S3 data, EC2 volumes, RDS databases, and other critical resources, including a practical example of how to back up AWS S3 buckets using Handy Backup.
Under the AWS shared responsibility model, data protection is up to you. Whether you're running apps in EC2, storing documents in S3, or managing databases with RDS, knowing how to back up AWS services is a vital part of your disaster recovery plan.
It's important to know how to back up AWS EC2, while also applying the right strategy for RDS and EFS, depending on usage and criticality.
Here are the most common services and what you should include in your backup strategy:
Amazon EC2
Back up: OS, EBS volumes, configs.
How to back up AWS EC2: Create snapshots or full AMIs.
Amazon RDS
Back up: Database content (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.).
How to back up AWS RDS databases: Use automated snapshots or logical exports.
Amazon S3
Back up: Object storage — files, logs, media.
How to back up AWS S3: Use replication, lifecycle rules, or external tools.
Amazon EFS
Back up: Shared files used across instances.
How to back up AWS EFS: Schedule backups using AWS Backup or third-party tools.
There's no universal answer — frequency depends on:
- Data volatility: Dynamic environments may need daily or even hourly backups.
- Business requirements: Regulatory or compliance needs can dictate more frequent backups.
- Recovery goals: Your RPO (Recovery Point Objective) helps decide.
As a baseline:
- For S3 buckets and databases: daily or incremental backups
- For EC2 volumes and EFS: weekly full + daily incremental
When choosing how to back up AWS S3 data or other services, build a schedule that matches your operational risks — and test your recovery regularly.
If you're looking for a simple way to automate Amazon S3 backups, Handy Backup is a versatile tool that supports scheduled, encrypted, and incremental backups from S3 buckets to local or remote destinations.
Step-by-Step: Backing Up S3 Buckets
- Install Handy Backup
Compatible with Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server.
- Create a Backup Task
Launch the program and choose Backup mode.
- Select Amazon S3 as Source
Enter your AWS credentials and choose the desired bucket or folder.
- Choose Destination
Save backups to a local folder, FTP, NAS, or cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).
- Configure Options
Set incremental or full backup, encryption, and schedule.
- Run or Automate
Start manually or let Handy Backup run the task automatically, based on your configured schedule.
This is a reliable, no-code way to handle how to back up AWS S3 buckets without relying solely on native AWS tools. You can find detailed setup steps in the user manual.
Understanding how to back up AWS, from EC2 to RDS and S3, is critical to avoiding downtime and data loss. Whether you're using built-in AWS tools or professional solutions like Handy Backup, the key is consistency and automation.
By planning carefully — and knowing how to back up AWS S3, EC2, EFS, RDS and other services — you create a safety net for your business-critical data.
