Read beyond the included label
Find the provider’s current retention period, supported recovery targets, account access requirements and charges for restored resources. Ask whether recovery creates a separate instance or replaces an existing one. A backup entitlement is only useful when it matches the incident you intend to recover from.
Map the shared failure boundary
A copy controlled by the same account may be convenient but does not automatically protect against loss of that account’s access. Record who can remove copies, who can retrieve them and which credentials recovery requires. Use your security policy to decide whether another account or destination is needed.
Avoid accidental duplication
A second full-copy service may be unnecessary if the first already meets your objectives and is independently recoverable. It may also be valuable for portability or a different retention horizon. State the extra protection you expect, then test that property rather than counting the number of providers.
Evidence to collect
Save a dated copy of the plan’s relevant limits, a sample restore record and the owner of the recovery procedure. If the provider changes a plan or your database grows, revisit the fit. No universal provider comparison can replace the terms and configuration of your actual account.
Ask which incident remains uncovered
Fictional team: its hosted database can restore to a separate instance within the needed time, but recovery requires the same account used for daily administration. Adding another service may be relevant to account-loss scenarios; it is not automatically needed for ordinary accidental edits. Write two rows in the brief, one for each incident. Check the provider’s actual access and retention terms before assigning a result. If independent access is required, verify that the second route does not depend on the same unavailable identity or billing account.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- PostgreSQL: backup and restore — Platform documentation · postgresql.org · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-10-01
- PostgreSQL: continuous archiving — Platform documentation · postgresql.org · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-10-01