Regarding the maximum period for which an instance can be restored from a backup.

[bonsai]

A customer asked about the retention period for instance backups.

While we don't typically use backup data, we know that in the event of a critical instance failure, we can restore it through support.

However, we don't know the maximum number of days of backup data we can store.

Is there any official documentation on this?

I found a community post mentioning a maximum of 28 days, but the customer won't be satisfied without official documentation.

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Data backup and recovery The ServiceNow AHA architecture is the primary means to restore service in the case of a disruption that could impact availability. Full backups are performed direct to disk every seven days, with differential backups performed every 24 hours. These backups are retained in accordance with ServiceNow standard operating procedures. Backups are stored in the same sites where the data resides, with production instances backed up in both sites in the pair. Sub production instances (commonly used for testing and development purposes) are backed up only in their primary site, since they are not AHA-capable. The ServiceNow backup architecture is not designed to provide archival records. However, customers may retain data within their instances for as long as they need during the subscription term, in accordance with their policy or regulatory requirements. Additionally, there are capabilities available within the ServiceNow AI Platform to allow customers to manage their unique instance logs and regularly export data to external systems, as required. In specific scenarios, using more traditional data backup and recovery mechanisms may be appropriate. For example, if a customer deletes some data inadvertently or if a customer’s data integration or automation gets misconfigured or malfunctions, this could render data unusable or inaccessible. In these scenarios, the high availability architecture would not be applicable, and restoring from backup is the only option for recovery.

https://www.servicenow.com/content/dam/servicenow-assets/public/en-us/doc-type/resource-center/white...

[Yogesh11bhatt · Accepted solution]

Hi bonsai,

The 28-day retention period you saw in older community posts is outdated. ServiceNow currently maintains a maximum backup retention period of 14 days.

While ServiceNow keeps some of their deeper AHA (Advanced High Availability) architectural documentation gated, you can find this 14-day policy explicitly and officially documented in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

You can share this official KB article with your customer: Clean up sys_audit_delete and sys_audit_relation records automatically.

In the Issue section under the "Important" note, ServiceNow officially states:

"ServiceNow maintains 14 days of backup, so deletions take 14 days to cycle out of backups."

I hope this gives you the official documentation you need to satisfy your customer's request!

Please mark as helpful if this answers your question.

Thanks,
Yogesh

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

If there is a concern about data backup policies or changes, the correct escalation path is:

• ServiceNow Support case
• ServiceNow account representative (for policy or contractual clarification) 

@bonsai