Configuring a Same-Region Backup Policy

Scenarios

When you create a TaurusDB instance, the automated backup policy is enabled by default. After an instance is created, you can modify the automated backup policy (standard or sparse backup). Compared with a standard backup policy, sparse backup policies reduce the backup frequency while maintaining the same retention period for the backups.

TaurusDB backs up data based on the automated backup policy you specify. TaurusDB backs up data at the DB instance level. If a DB instance is faulty or data is damaged, you can still restore it using backups to ensure data reliability. Backing up data affects the database read and write performance, so you are advised to set the automated backup time window to off-peak hours.

After an automated backup policy is configured, full backups are created based on the time window and backup cycle specified in the policy. The time required for creating a backup depends on how much data there is in the instance. Backups are stored for as long as you specified in the backup policy.

You do not need to configure incremental backup policies because the system automatically performs an incremental backup every 5 minutes. The generated incremental backups can be used to restore the database and table data to a specified point in time.

Differences Between Standard Backup and Sparse Backup

Constraints

• The automated backup policy is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.
• Sparse backup is in the OBT phase. To use it, submit a service ticket.
• Rebooting the instance or changing the instance specifications is not allowed during full backup. Exercise caution when selecting a backup time window.
• When starting a full backup task, TaurusDB first tests connectivity to your instance. If the backup lock failed to be obtained from the DB instance, the verification fails and a retry is automatically performed. If the retry fails, the backup will fail.
• Performing a full backup may decrease instance throughput because it occupies node resources, especially disk bandwidth.
• If multiple sparse backup policies need to create backups on the same day, the system generates only one backup on that day and retains the backup based on the longest retention period.
• After sparse backup policies are configured, if no backup is generated in the specified backup window of a day (the backup conflicts with other operations or the backup fails), the backup will be skipped.
• If a sparse backup policy is deleted, existing backups that match a new policy will have their retention period updated according to the new policy. If the backups do not match any existing policy, they will continue to follow their original retention period.
• Automated backups triggered by sparse backup policies are full backups (not differential backups). They can be used only for full restoration and cannot be used for point-in-time recovery (PITR).

Backup Cleanup

Expired backups will be automatically deleted. To ensure data integrity, the system keeps the most recent backup that has exceeded the retention period during automatic deletions. This ensures that data within the retention period can still be restored.

Example

If you select Monday and Tuesday and set Retention Period to 2, any full or incremental backups exceeding two days will be deleted. That is, a backup generated on Monday will be deleted on Wednesday and a backup generated on Tuesday will be deleted on Thursday. According to the automated deletion policy for full backups, the deletion policy for backups is as follows:

• The full backup generated on Monday will be automatically deleted on Thursday.

  The full backup created on Monday expires on Wednesday, but according to the deletion policy, the system retains the most recent full backup that has exceeded the retention period. So it is retained until a new backup expires. The next full backup is created on Tuesday and expires on Thursday. Therefore, on Thursday, the Monday backup is deleted and the Tuesday backup is retained.

• The full backup generated on Tuesday will be automatically deleted on Wednesday of the following week.

  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 on 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.

Configuring a Standard Backup Policy for One Instance

1. Log in to the TaurusDB console.
2. Click in the upper left corner and select a region.
3. On the Instances page, click the target instance name.
4. In the navigation pane, choose Backups.
5. On the displayed Full Backups tab, click Configure Same-Region Backup Policy.
   Figure 1 Configuring a same-region backup policy
   

6. In the displayed dialog box, view the current backup policy. To modify the standard backup policy, adjust the parameter settings by referring to Table 2.
   Figure 2 Configuring a standard backup policy
   

   Table 2 Parameter description

   Parameter	Description
   Retention Period	Number of days that your automated backups can be retained. The retention period is from 1 to 732 days and the default value is 7. Extending the retention period improves data reliability. You can configure the retention period if needed. If you shorten the retention period, the new backup policy applies to 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. NOTE: To extend the retention period to up to 3,660 days, submit a service ticket.
   Time Zone	The backup time is in UTC format. The backup time window changes with the time zone if the DST or standard time is switched.
   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.
   Backup Cycle	By default, each day of the week is selected. You can change the backup cycle and must select at least one day of the week.

7. Enter YES in the text box as prompted and click OK.
8. On the Full Backups tab, click Configure Same-Region Backup Policy again to view the modified backup policy.

Configuring Sparse Backup Policies for One Instance (OBT)

1. Log in to the TaurusDB console.
2. Click in the upper left corner and select a region.
3. On the Instances page, click the target instance name.
4. In the navigation pane, choose Backups.
5. Click Configure Same-Region Backup Policy.
6. In the Configure Same-Region Backup Policy dialog box, check the current sparse backup policies. To modify the policies, adjust the parameter settings by referring to Table 3.
   Figure 3 Configuring sparse backup policies
   

   Table 3 Parameter description

   Parameter	Description
   Automated Backup	The automated backup policy is enabled by default cannot be disabled. Once automated backup is enabled, the system immediately performs a backup, which consumes backup space and incurs additional fees.
   Time Zone	The backup time is in UTC format. The backup time window changes with the time zone if the DST or standard time is switched.
   Time Window	Set it to a one-hour period within the 24-hour day during which the backup task may start, such as 01:00-02:00 or 12:00-13:00. To minimize potential impact on workloads, set the time window to off-peak hours. The backup time window is saved using the UTC time zone of your local browser. It changes with the time zone if the DST or standard time is switched. It indicates when the backup starts, not the duration of the entire backup task. The backup duration depends on the data volume of your instance.
   Backup Policy Parameters	The default policy is weekly backup. Select at least one day in a week. The backups can be retained for 1 to 732 days. You can add more backup policies to back up data by week, month, or year. An instance can have up to 10 sparse backup policies.

   Table 4 Configuring sparse backup policies

   Backup Cycle	Time	Retention Days
   Weekly	Select at least one day in a week.	The retention period is the number of days for storing full automated backups. It can be set to 1 to 732 days. Extending the retention period enhances data availability. Reducing the retention period takes effect for existing backups. Any backups (except manual backups) that have expired will be automatically deleted. Exercise caution when performing this operation.
   Monthly	Select at least one day in a month.
   Yearly	Select a specific day in a year.

7. Enter YES in the text box as prompted and click OK.
8. On the Full Backups tab page, click Configure Same-Region Backup Policy again to view the modified sparse backup policies.

Configuring Backup Policies for Multiple Instances

1. Log in to the TaurusDB console.
2. Click in the upper left corner and select a region.
3. On the Instances page, select multiple instances and choose More > Configure Same-Region Backup Policy above the instance list.

   A maximum of 50 instances can be selected at a time.

4. In the dialog box displayed on the right, adjust the parameter values to modify the standard or sparse backup policies. Enter YES in the text box as prompted and click OK.

FAQs

Why Did My Automated Backup Fail?

APIs

• Configuring an Automated Backup Policy
• Querying an Automated Backup Policy