Cross-Region Snapshot Copy
Parent: MongoDB Backup and Restore · Published reference · snapshot 2026-10-23 · skill mongodb-cohort-0e7a6f84ee61
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Source-anchored research for Cross-Region Snapshot Copy. Run status: COMPLETED.
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Definitions
- Atlas snapshot distribution is an opt-in Cloud Backup policy that copies selected cluster snapshots from the primary region to additional regions within the same cloud provider. Policy items set a destination region, snapshot frequency or a number of recent snapshots, and copy retention. (high confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-23) [source]
How it works
- Copying snapshots to other regions adds cross-region data-transfer charges and snapshot-storage charges in those regions. PointFive recommends reducing copy regions or copied snapshot types when disaster-recovery requirements do not justify the additional copies. (medium confidence) [source]
- For a multi-region restore, local copies in the target cluster's regions can allow Atlas to use faster direct-attach restores when the target is in the same project and regions as those copies. If a local copy is unavailable or the target uses NVMe storage, Atlas defaults to slower streaming restore; snapshot distribution therefore does not guarantee a fixed restore time. (medium confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-23) [source]
Comparisons and alternatives
- When copies exist in every region of a multi-region cluster, Atlas can use faster direct-attach restores from local copies after a regional outage instead of slower cross-region streaming restores. (high confidence) [source]
Facts and statements
- Atlas Cloud Backup stores snapshots in the cloud provider region of the cluster's current primary node by default. A snapshot copy policy distributes copies to additional regions; its policy items specify the target region, copy frequency, retention time, and whether to copy oplogs. (high confidence) [source]
- Point-in-time restore from a copy region requires Continuous Cloud Backup and oplog copying to that region. Oplog copying is enabled at the region level, so enabling it for one policy item makes point-in-time restore available for all snapshot-copy policies in that region. (high confidence) [source]
- Atlas requires snapshot copy regions to use the same cloud provider as the cluster's primary region. (high confidence) [source]
- The current Atlas snapshot-distribution documentation says the feature is not supported on Atlas Infinite clusters during public preview. (high confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-23) [source]
- MongoDB's February 17, 2026 announcement describes controls for selecting snapshots, setting copy retention independently from source snapshots, and applying policy changes to existing copies. The Terraform provider documents copy_policy_items or last_number_of_snapshots selection and update_copy_snapshots or delete_copy_snapshots controls. (medium confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-23) [source]
- A March 31, 2026 OneUptime tutorial estimates that snapshot copies arrive asynchronously 15–60 minutes after the primary snapshot completes. (low confidence) (verified as of 2026-03-31) [source]
- If the primary region goes down and its snapshot is unavailable, Atlas can restore from a copied snapshot in another region. This is a backup recovery path that requires restoration; it does not itself provide automatic application failover. (medium confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-23) [source]
- Atlas bills cross-region data transfer and additional backup-copy storage. MongoDB estimates that copying all backups to one additional region costs approximately twice the storage, with actual storage costs varying by region; selective copies and shorter copy retention can reduce unnecessary copy storage. (medium confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-20) [source]
- A Reddit user describing an Atlas Flex cluster in me-central-1 said the live cluster and backups appeared inaccessible during a regional outage and asked whether a restore to another region could be forced. The thread verifies neither the backup configuration nor a restore outcome, so it is not evidence that configured cross-region copies failed. (low confidence) (verified as of 2026-10-23) [source]
Children
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