#FAQs

#Will your backup services incur other costs during backup?

It varies depending upon the backup services used. Generally, if you only use the Microsoft Entra ID service and Admin Portal Settings service, you will not experience additional costs for backup.

If your subscription contains Azure VM, Azure Storage, Amazon EC2, Azure SQL, SQL Server, VMware, or Google Cloud Storage, your backup services may incur additional costs on the protected Azure VM and Storage, Amazon EC2 instance, Azure SQL database, Microsoft SQL Server in Azure VM, VMware, or Google Cloud Storage for data transfer, snapshots, operations, or API calls, etc. For details, refer to the table below:

Service	Additional Costs	Pricing Reference
Azure VM	Snapshots The cost could be higher if you perform more backups and keeps more snapshots.	For the snapshots pricing, refer to this Microsoft page.
Azure VM	Data transfer The cost will increase if the data is transferred out of the region where the Azure VMs reside, or out of Azure, especially if you are using different storage types.	For details, refer to this Microsoft page: Bandwidth pricing.
Azure VM	Index generation for exporting VM files The cost will increase if the Azure VMs to protect are in a region different from where your AOS is signed up for Additionally, if the data is stored in a storage type other than Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, the expenses will also rise. *Note: It is recommended to generate an index for VM files in the Restore wizard instead of enabling index generation during a backup job; otherwise, the costs would be higher.	For details, refer to this Microsoft page: Bandwidth pricing.
Azure VM	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
Azure Storage	Read operations and Data retrieval for backup	For details, refer to the following Microsoft pages: Azure Blob Storage pricing Azure Files pricing
Azure Storage	Data transfer The cost will increase if the data is transferred out of the region where the blob storage or file shares reside, or out of Azure, especially if you are using different storage types.	For details, refer to the following Microsoft pages: Azure Blob Storage pricing Azure Files pricing
Azure Storage	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
Amazon EC2	Snapshots; EBS direct API for snapshots.	For details on the pricing, refer to Amazon EBS pricing. To save costs, you can reduce the backup frequencies.
Amazon EC2	Data transfer It could be higher if data is transferred out of the region where the EC2 instance resides, or out of Amazon, if you are using a different storage type.	For details, refer to Amazon EC2 On-Demand Pricing.
Amazon EC2	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
Azure SQL	There will be additional costs if you use the Azure SQL backup service. To minimize the impact on production environment databases during Azure SQL backup jobs, the database data is copied to a temporary database before the backup process begins. This approach may incur additional costs.	For details, refer to Azure SQL Database pricing.
Azure SQL	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
Microsoft SQL Server in Azure VM	Data transfer The cost will increase if the data is transferred out of the region where the Azure VMs reside, or out of Azure, especially if you are using different storage types.	For details, refer to this Microsoft page: Bandwidth pricing.
Microsoft SQL Server in Azure VM	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
VMware	Data transfer There will be outbound costs when the data is transferred from VMware to backup storage.
VMware	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
Google Cloud Storage	Read/Write operations and Data retrieval for backup	For details, refer to Storage pricing - Google Cloud.
Google Cloud Storage	Data transfer The cost will increase when you move or copy data from one Cloud Storage bucket to another or when another Google Cloud service accesses data in your Cloud Storage bucket.	For details, refer to Storage pricing - Google Cloud.
Google Cloud Storage	CAP Gateway mode There will be additional costs for hosting CAP Gateways if you perform backups using the CAP Gateway mode.
Azure PostgreSQL	Data transfer The cost will increase if the data is transferred out of the region where the Azure Postgre Server reside, or out of Azure, especially if you are using different storage types.	For details, refer to this Microsoft page.
Azure PostgreSQL	Temporary server During the backup process, a temporary server instance is created. The temporary server is deleted immediately after the backup completes.
Cosmos DB	The cost will increase when the backup policy mode is set to Continuous (7-day or 30-day).	For details, refer to this Microsoft page.
Cosmos DB	Account copy To minimize the impact on production databases during Cosmos DB backup jobs, database data is copied to a temporary account before the backup process begins. This approach may incur additional costs.	For details, refer to this Microsoft page.
Cosmos DB	Data restore Additional costs may be incurred due to RU consumption, which increases with data volume.	For details, refer to this Microsoft page.

#Is the AWS storage available for Cloud Backup for IaaS + PaaS?

Yes, Cloud Backup for IaaS + PaaS supports the Amazon S3 storage as an available option for both AvePoint hosted default storage location and BYOS location. Additionally, it supports the Amazon S3-Compatible storage as a BYOS option. For more details about storage, refer to Manage Your Storage.

The Amazon S3 storage and Amazon S3-Compatible storage are available for all AvePoint backup products. However, the Amazon S3 storage is available as an AvePoint hosted default storage location only for Cloud Backup for IaaS + PaaS and Cloud Backup for Microsoft 365.

#How does the retention policy work for Azure VM backups?

The backup process for Azure includes saving snapshots to Microsoft Azure and storing the backup data to your storage location. Snapshots are required to ensure data consistency and enable faster recovery process.

When configuring backup scopes for Azure virtual machines, you can configure the retention policy to set when to prune the snapshots from Azure and the backup data from the storage location.

• Snapshots in Azure - You can configure the number of snapshots to keep or how long the snapshots will be retained.

• Backup data in storage - You can configure the retention period for daily, hourly, and weekly recovery points.

For details on how to configure the retention policy for Azure VMs, refer to Create a New Backup Scope for Azure VM.

#Why do I need to enable "All versions and deletes change feed mode" for Cosmos DB service?

The default change feed does not record deletes or intermediate updates. Without this mode, a backup tool cannot determine what was deleted, when it was deleted, or which document version existed at a specific point in time. That makes accurate restore, point-in-time recovery, and replay-based backup incomplete.

The "All versions and deletes" mode (preview) keeps a persistent record of create, update, and delete operations.

#Why can't AvePoint back up my Cosmos DB data without this setting?

Without "All versions and deletes" mode, the default Cosmos DB change feed cannot provide the full history required for reliable backup and recovery.

Backup requirement	Cosmos DB default feed
Detect deletes	No
Restore deleted data	No
Point-in-time restore	Inaccurate
Replay full history	Incomplete
Compliance-grade backup	Not defensible

Without this mode, AvePoint cannot reliably identify deletes, historical versions, or the exact sequence of changes needed for accurate restore and replay-based recovery.

#If I enable "All versions and deletes change feed mode" or "Continuous Backup," will it impact storage, costs, or performance?

Yes, but usually only slightly.

• Storage: It does not increase the size of your containers or documents. Your application data remains unchanged. Historical versions and delete markers are stored internally by Cosmos DB as part of continuous backup, not as user-visible container data.
• Cost: Microsoft applies continuous backup storage pricing to this capability. Reading the change feed also consumes RU, which is typically low.
• Performance: Impact is usually minor, but it may be noticeable if your account is already close to RU/s limits and has heavy write volume.

#Do I need to store this additional log data in my environment?

No. You only need to enable the feature (which requires Cosmos DB Continuous Backup). Cosmos DB stores and retains this data internally, and AvePoint reads it through Cosmos DB APIs.

#Why do I need to enable the Continuous Backup policy mode for Cosmos DB Service?

The "All versions and deletes" feature is implemented internally through Cosmos DB continuous backup logs (changes). Because of this:

• Change retention is limited by the backup policy retention period you choose (7 days or 30 days).
• Only the logs/changes that are within the configured retention period can be read.
• Older logs (older changes) are automatically removed and can no longer be read.

This is why Microsoft requires Continuous backup policy mode to be enabled when "All versions and deletes change feed mode" is turned on.

#Does it matter if I choose the 7-day or 30-day option?

Yes. The retention option affects cost.

Continuous backup storage	Total GB	Price per GB
Continuous backup data - 7-day retention	GBs x number of regions	Free/month
Continuous backup data - 30-day retention	GBs x number of regions	$0.20/month
Point-in-time restore	GBs	$0.15

For more detailed information, refer to Change feed modes in Azure Cosmos DB.