Configuring an Automated Backup Policy for GaussDB Instances

Scenarios

When you create a GaussDB instance, an instance-level automated backup policy is enabled by default. After your instance is created, you can modify the automated backup policy as needed. GaussDB backs up data based on the automated backup policy you specified.

Constraints

• The instance-level automated backup policy cannot be configured for GaussDB single-replica instances of versions earlier than V2.0-3.0.
• To ensure that data can be restored to a specific point in time, the most recent full backup that exceeds the backup retention period will not be deleted immediately.

  For example, with the automated backup policy set to perform daily backups and retain them for one day, if backup 1 is generated on November 1, this backup will not be deleted on November 2 when backup 2 is generated, but will be deleted on November 3 when backup 3 is generated and backup 2 is retained.

Modifying an Automated Backup Policy

1. Log in to the management console.
2. Click in the upper left corner and select a region and project.
3. Click in the upper left corner of the page and choose Databases > GaussDB.
4. On the Instances page, click the name of the target instance to go to the Basic Information page.
5. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Backups. On the displayed page, click Modify Backup Policy. You can view the configured backup policy. To modify the backup policy, adjust the parameter values as needed.

6. Configure parameters.

   Table 1 Full backup policy

   Parameter	Description
   Retention Period	Number of days that your automated backups can be retained. Increasing the retention period will improve data reliability. Full backups are retained till the retention period expires. However, even if the retention period has expired, the most recent backup will be retained. Extending the retention period improves data reliability. You can extend the retention period as needed. If you shorten the retention period, the new backup policy takes effect for existing backups. Any automated backups (including full and incremental backups) that have expired will be automatically deleted. Manual backups will not be automatically deleted but you can delete them manually. Policy for automatically deleting automated full backups: To ensure data integrity, even after the retention period expires, the most recent backup will be retained. If Backup Cycle was set to Monday and Tuesday and the Retention Period was set to 2: The full backup generated on Monday will be automatically deleted on Thursday. The reasons are as follows: The backup generated on Monday expires on Wednesday, but it was the last backup, so it will be retained until a new backup expires. The next backup will be generated on Tuesday and will expire on Thursday. So the full backup generated on Monday will not be automatically deleted until Thursday. The full backup generated on Tuesday will be automatically deleted on the following Wednesday. The reasons are as follows: The backup generated on Tuesday will expire on Thursday, but as it is the last backup, so it will be retained until a new backup expires. The next backup will be generated the next Monday and will expire on the next Wednesday. So the full backup generated on Tuesday will not be automatically deleted until the next Wednesday.
   Standby Node Backup	If this policy is enabled, full and differential backups of the instance are performed on the hosts where standby DNs reside.
   Time Window	A one-hour period the backup will be scheduled within 24 hours, such as 01:00-02:00 or 12:00-13:00. The backup time is in UTC format. If the DST or standard time is switched, the backup time segment changes with the time zone.
   Backup Cycle	One or more days from Monday to Sunday when a backup task will be triggered. By default, all options are selected. Select at least one day as required. Backups can be retained for 1 to 732 days. A time window is one hour. A total of 24 time windows are available. You are advised to select an off-peak time window for full backups. By default, each day of the week is selected for Backup Cycle. You can change the backup cycle. At least one day must be selected. A full backup is immediately triggered after a DB instance is created. Then, a full backup or differential backup is performed based on the time window and backup cycle you specified. We recommend that you set the full backup time window to an off-peak hour.

   Table 2 Differential backup policy

   Parameter	Description
   Backup Cycle	You need to select the backup cycle for performing a differential backup. The default value is 30 minutes.

7. Click OK.
8. Check the result.

   After the task is submitted, click Modify Backup Policy to check whether the modification is successful.