What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?

Backup protects against data loss - you can restore individual files or VMs from a specific point in time. Disaster recovery is the planned restoration of your entire infrastructure after a complete failure, with defined RTO (recovery time) and RPO (max data loss). DR needs backup, but backup alone is not DR.

What are RTO and RPO?

RTO (Recovery Time Objective) = maximum acceptable downtime. RPO (Recovery Point Objective) = acceptable data loss. Example: RTO 4h / RPO 1h means maximum 4 hours downtime and maximum 1 hour of data loss. These values define the DR strategy and thus the costs.

How does a stretched Ceph cluster work?

Ceph stretch mode distributes OSDs across two data sites; a third site hosts the tiebreaker monitor. Availability depends on monitor quorum and available replicas (Ceph documentation). Proxmox requires latency below 5 ms between Corosync nodes (source).

How often should DR drills happen?

Best practice: At least semi-annual full failover test in an isolated test environment, annual full DR drill with failover to the DR site. Restore tests of individual VMs should run automated quarterly. Without regular tests, DR is just theory.

Does DR also protect against ransomware?

A DR strategy can support recovery after a ransomware incident, but it does not replace layered protection. Relevant measures include separated permissions and locations, a pull-based offsite copy, and an additional offline or immutable storage path. S3 Object Lock is not enforced on an active PBS S3 datastore because pruning and garbage collection require deletion operations.

What does a DR strategy cost?

Backup DR: from €1,490 setup + monthly storage. Warm standby: from €5,990 setup + second hosting. Hot standby: from €17,990 setup + stretched cluster. We calculate TCO based on your RTO/RPO requirements and compare with the risk value (downtime costs × probability).

Can RTO be greater than RPO?

Yes. RTO limits acceptable downtime; RPO limits acceptable data loss. Frequent backups can provide a small RPO while recovery takes longer.

How does failover work with two nodes?

A QDevice adds a quorum vote, not VM capacity or data. ZFS replication can keep disks on the second node; changes since the last replication may be lost. See two-node clusters.

Which backup solution suits Proxmox?

Proxmox Backup Server integrates with Proxmox VE. Retention, offsite copies and restore tests follow the recovery objectives. Costs and features compared: Proxmox Backup Server vs. Veeam.

Design and test Proxmox disaster recovery

We define RTO and RPO objectives, backup and replication paths, failover runbooks, and an agreed testing plan for your Proxmox environment.

RTO & RPO per workload
Failover runbooks
Tested recovery

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Why DR strategy?

Backups alone are not enough

A good backup system means you don't lose data. A DR strategy means you come back online - in a planned, defined timeframe. Without clear RTO/RPO values, without failover runbooks and without regular tests, your "disaster recovery" is just hope.

RTO
Recovery Time Objective: How long does recovery take?
RPO
Recovery Point Objective: How much data can be lost?
BIA
Business Impact Analysis: What does one hour of downtime cost?
DR-Drill
Regular failover tests - otherwise nothing is validated.

Proxmox mechanisms

RTO & RPO: which DR tier does your company need?

Two numbers define every DR concept: the RPO (recovery point objective - how many minutes of data may be lost at most?) and the RTO (recovery time objective - how fast must everything run again?). Proxmox covers three tiers that differ significantly in cost and complexity:

Tier	RPO	RTO	Requirement
Backup & restore (PBS)	Hours (backup interval)	Minutes to hours - live restore starts VMs during recovery	PBS with offsite copy; cheapest tier
Storage replication (pvesr)	From 1 minute (minimum replication interval)	Minutes - VM restarts on the replication node	ZFS on both nodes, cluster-internal
Hot standby (HA cluster)	~0 with shared storage (Ceph)	~2 minutes typical error detection + automatic restart	3+ nodes, fencing, shared storage

Storage Replication Proxmox
High Availability Proxmox
PBS Sync Jobs Proxmox
The tiers are not mutually exclusive - production environments combine them: HA against hardware failure, replication against storage loss, backups against ransomware and human error. Since Proxmox Datacenter Manager (GA since late 2025), live migrations between separate clusters are also possible - relevant for site failover.

Our Process

From risk analysis to failover drill

In an emergency, it is not the replication that decides - it is whether someone at 3 a.m. knows what to do. That is why every DR concept includes a runbook that we create with you and test in drills:

01
Risk & Impact Analysis
Which workloads are business-critical? What does one hour of downtime cost? We define RTO/RPO per workload.
02
DR Strategy & Architecture
Backup DR, warm or hot standby? Design of replication topology and failover mechanisms.
03
Implementation
Building the DR setup, configuring replication and backups, creating the runbooks.
04
DR Drills & Continuous Testing
Regular failover tests in test environments, automated restore validation, annual full DR drill.

DR runbook: recovery step by step

Restart order: which systems first (AD/DNS before applications before clients)
Dependency matrix: what needs what in order to start
Decision tree: who declares the disaster case when - and who may abort
Access & keys: password vault, PBS encryption keys and 2FA recovery outside the affected systems
Communication plan: who informs management, employees, customers
Drill log: every drill documents what worked - and what did not

Three DR Tiers

DR tiers and prices: backup DR, warm standby, hot standby

Backup DR, warm standby and hot standby use different architectures. RTO, RPO and failover objectives are agreed individually based on architecture and acceptance criteria.

Backup & Restore

Backup DR

from €1,490 net setup
PBS 4.2 with S3 object storage
Encrypted offsite replication
Quarterly restore tests
Replacement hardware provisioning

PBS backups offsite (e.g. Hetzner Storage Box). In disaster case, restore to replacement hardware.

Asynchronous replication

Warm Standby

from €5,990 net setup
Cross-datacenter replication
ZFS send/receive or Ceph RBD
Documented failover runbooks
Semi-annual DR drills

Second Proxmox setup at separate location. Asynchronous ZFS/storage replication, manual failover.

Hot Standby (HA)

from €17,990 net setup
Stretched Ceph cluster
Synchronous replication
Automatic failover (HA Rules)
Quarterly failover tests

Ceph stretch mode across two data sites, tiebreaker monitor at a third site. Failover via HA Rules.

Prove recoverability

Test a Proxmox backup in practice, not just its job status

WZ-IT reviews PBS configuration, restores an agreed system in isolation and documents the recovery point, duration and required actions. DR drills test the failover path; the restore test demonstrates one recovery.

Restore testfrom €1,490 excl. VAT5 to 10 business days after access and an agreed test window

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DR-Drills

When did you last practice a restore?

For many companies, the answer is: never. That is why we plan documented restore tests and DR drills as an explicitly agreed operating scope or as a standalone DR project starting with a health check.

View Managed Proxmox →Billed by time

Proxmox support without a contract

Describe the task and agree scope and fees.

€120 excl. VAT / hour · Hour packages from €1,200 excl. VATDescribe the task →For professional secrecy holders

Operate Proxmox in the Section 203 Managed Cloud

If Proxmox processes client, patient or other professional secrets, WZ-IT plans the application, infrastructure, access, backups and ongoing operations within a purpose-built operating model.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most important questions

Knowledge

Further Proxmox guides

In-depth knowledge from our Proxmox knowledge base.

Guides

Proxmox proof from real projects

Customer feedback on virtualization, backup, VPN, security and ongoing cluster operations.

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Networking & Provisioning

WZ-IT moved our studio infrastructure from decentralised individual devices to a central platform: every site is securely connected via VPN, new devices are onboarded automatically and an entire site is provisioned from a template, without manual steps on location. What impressed me most is the breadth and depth of their knowledge: Timo and Robin are not a typical IT provider who sets up a server and leaves. The two of them think their way into highly complex infrastructure and software topics, work through every requirement we put in front of them, and build networking, provisioning and operations so that everything fits together in the end. WZ-IT is an excellent partner for complex software, network and architecture projects.

Steve KirchnerManaging Director, nextGYM GmbH

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International

Built in Germany's Ruhr Valley. Running worldwide.

WZ-IT designs, develops and operates infrastructure and software for clients in Germany and internationally. We deliver projects remotely and continue supporting them in ongoing operations after go-live.

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Plan Proxmox disaster recovery

Name sites, critical systems, and required recovery-time and recovery-point objectives.

Straight with Timo and Robin - no sales team, no pitch
A professional assessment of your situation
Concrete next steps for infrastructure, software or AI

The conversation is free and non-binding.

WZ-IT's advice on our Azure migration was technically sound and completely non-binding right from the intro call - we took away a great deal.

Jakob ÖschlbergerInno7 GmbH

Email[email protected]Phone+49 2922 875068

WZ-IT's advice on our Azure migration was technically sound and completely non-binding right from the intro call - we took away a great deal.

Jakob ÖschlbergerInno7 GmbH

Design and test Proxmox disaster recovery

Backups alone are not enough

RTO

RPO

BIA

DR-Drill

RTO & RPO: which DR tier does your company need?

From risk analysis to failover drill

Risk & Impact Analysis

DR Strategy & Architecture

Implementation

DR Drills & Continuous Testing

DR runbook: recovery step by step