How to Recover or Restore a Deleted Application or Server on Cloudways

Accidentally deleting a server or application, or losing access to it due to an infrastructure issue, can cause unexpected downtime for your websites.

In some situations, Cloudways allows you to recover a deleted application or restore a server from available backups, helping you bring your websites back online quickly.

This guide explains how to recover a deleted application or server on the Cloudways platform, when recovery is possible, and what steps may be required after restoration.

You will also learn how Cloudways backups work, how servers can be restored or recreated from a backup, and what configurations may need to be updated afterward.

For example, after restoring a server from a backup, some settings such as DNS records, email configuration, or platform add-ons may need to be reconfigured to ensure your websites function correctly again.

Whether you are trying to recover a deleted Cloudways application, restore a server backup, or recover website data after an outage, this article will guide you through the available recovery options and recommended steps.

Before attempting to recover a deleted application or server, it is important to understand how recovery works on the Cloudways platform.

Cloudways relies on automated backups to restore lost data. A backup is a saved copy of your server and application files, database, and configurations taken at a specific time.

Recovery is only possible if a backup exists that contains the required data.

If you are unsure whether recovery is possible, you can contact Cloudways Support for assistance.

Server recovery should be used when your server or applications become unavailable and restoring from a backup is the safest way to recover your website data.

You may need to perform a server recovery in situations such as:

In these cases, restoring the server from a backup can help bring your websites back online using the most recent available data.

Before attempting to recover a server or application, keep the following important points in mind.

Review these requirements before starting the recovery process.

When a website becomes unavailable, the recovery method depends on the actual cause of the issue. The terms server recovery, backup restoration, and server rebuild are sometimes used interchangeably, but they apply to different situations.

The table below explains when each approach should be used.

In simple terms:

If your server becomes unreachable due to a cloud provider or infrastructure issue, Cloudways Support may recommend rebuilding the server and restoring it from backup to restore service as quickly as possible.

The recovery method depends on the Cloudways product you are using, because backup and infrastructure management work differently for each platform.

Cloudways currently offers two main environments:

Each environment has a different recovery process.

The following sections explain how recovery works for each platform.

Cloudways Flexible gives you full control over your server infrastructure. Your applications run on servers provided by cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, or Vultr.

If an application or server is deleted in Cloudways Flexible, recovery may be possible using server backups.

If an application was accidentally deleted, it may be possible to restore it if the server still exists and a backup was created before the deletion.

In this situation, you can restore the server to a previous backup that still contains the application.

Restoring the server backup will bring back the application along with its files and database as they existed at the time of the backup.

However, keep in mind that restoring a server backup will also restore all applications on that server to the selected backup time.

Application recovery means your application's web files and database are recovered from the last available backup.

If the server itself was deleted, direct recovery may not always be possible because the server infrastructure has been removed.

However, if Cloudways backups are still available, Cloudways Support may be able to assist in restoring the server data by recreating a server from the backup.

This process typically involves:

After the server is restored, you may need to update certain configurations such as:

These steps ensure that your websites function normally after the recovery.

Cloudways Autonomous is designed to automatically manage infrastructure and scaling for your applications.

In this environment, servers are managed by the platform, and applications run inside an optimized container-based infrastructure.

Because the infrastructure is managed automatically, the recovery process is slightly different from Cloudways Flexible.

If an application is deleted on Cloudways Autonomous, recovery is only possible if a backup exists from before the deletion.

To restore the application, you can deploy a new application and restore the available backup that contains the required data.

A backup contains the application’s files and database at the time it was created. Restoring a backup brings the application back to the same state it was in when the backup was taken.

If no backup exists prior to deletion, the application data cannot be recovered.

In rare cases, an application may become unavailable due to an issue with the underlying cloud infrastructure. Infrastructure refers to the servers and systems provided by the cloud provider that run your websites.

When such issues occur, Cloudways Support may restore the application environment using the most recent available backup.

After recovery, you may need to verify that certain configurations are correctly set, such as:

These checks ensure that your website functions normally after the recovery.

After restoring a server or application, it is important to verify that your website and services are working correctly.

Use the checklist below to confirm that all required configurations are properly set.

If the server IP address changed during recovery, update your domain’s DNS records so the domain points to the new server IP.

DNS (Domain Name System) connects your domain name to the server that hosts your website.

Check that your SSL certificate is installed and active so visitors can access your website securely using HTTPS.

If your website sends emails (such as contact form submissions or password reset emails), verify that your SMTP or transactional email service is correctly configured.

Cron jobs are scheduled tasks that run automatically on your server, such as backups, email tasks, or maintenance scripts. Ensure that these jobs are still configured correctly.

If you are using Cloudways add-ons such as Malware Scanner or other services, confirm that they are enabled and properly configured.

Finally, test your website to ensure that:

If your website does not work as expected after restoring a server or application, check the following common issues.

Ensure that your DNS records point to the correct server IP address. DNS changes may also take time to propagate across the internet.

Verify that your SMTP or transactional email service is configured correctly within your application.

If browsers show SSL warnings, reinstall or renew your SSL certificate to restore secure HTTPS connections.

After updating DNS records, changes may take several hours to propagate globally. During this time, some visitors may still reach the previous server location.

When a server or application is restored from a backup, some configurations may need to be updated again. This happens because certain settings are stored outside the backup or depend on the server’s network configuration.

Below are some common settings that may require verification or reconfiguration.

DNS (Domain Name System) connects your domain name (for example, example.com) to your server’s IP address.

If a server is recreated or replaced during recovery, the server IP address may change. In that case, you will need to update the DNS records with the new IP address so visitors can reach your website again.

Many websites send emails for actions such as:

These emails usually rely on an external email service or SMTP configuration.

After a server recovery, you should verify that the email configuration is still active and correctly connected to your application.

An SSL certificate enables secure HTTPS connections between visitors and your website.

After restoring a server or application, check that your SSL certificate is still active. If necessary, you may need to reinstall or renew the certificate.

Cloudways provides optional services called add-ons, such as email delivery services, security tools, or monitoring services.

After recovering a server, verify that any required add-ons are still enabled and properly configured.

To reduce the risk of data loss and ensure faster recovery, it is recommended to follow these best practices.

Ensure that automated backups are enabled and scheduled at an appropriate frequency. Regular backups allow you to restore your applications if unexpected issues occur.

Before performing actions such as:

create a manual backup. This provides an immediate restore point if needed.

Regularly monitor your server health and application availability using the Monitoring tools available in the Cloudways Platform.

Monitoring helps identify issues early and allows faster response in case of infrastructure problems.

If you are unable to recover a deleted application or server using the available backup options, Cloudways Support may be able to assist.

You should contact support if:

Cloudways Support can review your server status and guide you through the available recovery options.

Can I recover an application to a different server if the original server is deleted?

Yes, you can choose to recover your application on a different available server or a new server.

Which backup is used to recover the application/server?

The recovery feature will always seek the latest backup to recover your server or application. Please note that your applications' previous restore points will not be available after application recovery.

Why am I getting the error “We restore servers with at least one Application. Please restore Application instead.”?

To recover a server, you need to have at least one backup of the mentioned server before it was deleted. Cloudways Platform automatically takes a backup of your whole server within 24 hours of creation, or you can take an on-demand backup.

Why am I getting the error “Unfortunately, there is no backup available for this Application.”?

It means the application you are trying to recover has no backup available; therefore, it can not be restored. Applications with at least one backup can be recovered.

My trial period has expired, and I just upgraded my account. Can I still recover my applications and servers?

Yes, you can recover your applications and servers within fourteen days (14) of deletion if they have at least one backup available. Please remember that once your server is recovered, you must update the corresponding DNS records and configure your SSL certificates.

Why am I getting an error message stating, “Server does not have enough space. Please select a different server to restore an application or create a new one?”

It indicates that your chosen server does not have enough storage space to recover your desired application. You can optimize your server disk space or scale up the existing server. Alternatively, you can recover your application to a different available server.

Why is my deleted application/server not on the recovery list?

The following are the reasons if you do not see your desired application or server to recover:

That’s it! We hope this article was useful.

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