{"id":7412,"date":"2026-03-27T08:43:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/?post_type=manual_kb&#038;p=7412"},"modified":"2026-03-27T08:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:44:00","slug":"what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup","status":"publish","type":"manual_kb","link":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a MySQL archive backup?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A MySQL archive backup is an additional, non-guaranteed copy of your database that is stored outside of your plan&#8217;s standard backup retention period. These backups serve as an extra layer of security, providing a historical snapshot of your data that would otherwise be unavailable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup\/#Context\" >Context<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup\/#How_Archive_Backups_Work\" >How Archive Backups Work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup\/#Distinction_Standard_Backup_vs_Archive_Backup\" >Distinction: Standard Backup vs. Archive Backup<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup\/#Practical_Implications\" >Practical Implications<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/what-is-a-mysql-archive-backup\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Context\"><\/span>Context<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Standard backups are generated automatically and kept for a set period (e.g., 7 or 30 days) depending on your plan. Archive backups are &#8220;excess&#8221; copies stored on a separate infrastructure. They are intended for emergency recovery situations, such as restoring a website after long-term malware corruption or recovering data lost due to historical development errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Archive_Backups_Work\"><\/span>How Archive Backups Work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"mybox-2905774478\" class=\"mybox-content mybox-entity-placement\"><div class=\"early-access-banner-inpost\">\r\n  <div class=\"banner-left-inpost\">\r\n    <div class=\"icon-box-inpost\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/square-info-icon.svg\" alt=\"Info\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"text-box-inpost\">\r\n      <span class=\"label-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Early access<\/span><\/span>\r\n      <h4><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Still need help?<\/span><\/h4>\r\n      <p><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Contact our customer service team.<\/span><\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <div class=\"banner-right-inpost\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/panel.mybox.com\/helpdesk2\/v\/list\/\" class=\"banner-button-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Message us<\/span><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike standard backups, which you can restore instantly from your dashboard, archive backups are managed as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Extended Retention:<\/strong> These copies are older than the standard backups included in your package.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure Isolation:<\/strong> They are stored on dedicated, separate infrastructure to ensure maximum data integrity and security.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Availability:<\/strong> Up to two additional archival copies may be available for each database, though these are provided as a best-effort service and are not a guaranteed part of the hosting SLA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Distinction_Standard_Backup_vs_Archive_Backup\"><\/span>Distinction: Standard Backup vs. Archive Backup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Feature<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Standard Backup<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Archive Backup<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Retention<\/strong><\/td><td>Fixed (e.g., last 30 days)<\/td><td>Older, historical copies<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Accessibility<\/strong><\/td><td>Instant (via the mybox panel)<\/td><td>On-request (via Helpdesk)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Storage Cost<\/strong><\/td><td>Included in plan allowance<\/td><td>Free (does not count toward limits)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Guarantee<\/strong><\/td><td>Guaranteed by service terms<\/td><td>Non-guaranteed\/Best-effort<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Practical_Implications\"><\/span>Practical Implications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because archive backups are stored on separate infrastructure, they require manual intervention to retrieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Accessing the Data:<\/strong> To access an archive backup, you must submit a request through the <strong>24h Helpdesk<\/strong>. You can do this by clicking the &#8220;Helpdesk 24h&#8221; button next to the specific archive entry in your backup list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"817\" height=\"596\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-2.png 817w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-2-300x219.png 300w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-2-768x560.png 768w, https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-2-16x12.png 16w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 817px) 100vw, 817px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Service Fees:<\/strong> While storing the archive is free, a service fee may apply for the manual restoration or provision of these historical files. A consultant will provide specific pricing details upon your request.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data Readiness:<\/strong> Once your request is processed, the database copy will be made available in your dashboard for administrative use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MySQL archive backups act as a &#8220;safety net for the safety net.&#8221; They provide a way to recover data from the distant past, protecting your project from the long-term effects of technical errors or security breaches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","manualknowledgebasecat":[25],"manual_kb_tag":[],"class_list":["post-7412","manual_kb","type-manual_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","manualknowledgebasecat-hosting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manual_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7416,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7412\/revisions\/7416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"manualknowledgebasecat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manualknowledgebasecat?post=7412"},{"taxonomy":"manual_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb_tag?post=7412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}