Back up the server logs

The server logs store log data separately from the system configuration. The server logs are not included when you back up or restore the system configuration.

Retention period

By default, the server logs are retained for 7 days. When the retention period expires, older log entries are automatically deleted.

If you rely on log data for compliance or long‑term analysis, make sure that your backup strategy accounts for the retention period.

Backing up the server logs

If you export server logs to an external logging or monitoring system, backup and retention are handled according to the capabilities and configuration of that system.

The log data is stored using an LSM type database. If you want to keep log data beyond the retention period or protect it against data loss, you must back up the log files separately.

For more information about database backup and restore, go to: https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/#backup-and-restore