Backup Types

Based on different dimensions, there are the following backup types in TaurusDB.

By Industry Perspective: Full Backups, Differential Backups, and Incremental Backups

**Table 1** Comparison between full backups, differential backups, and incremental backups
Backup Type	Full backups	Differential backups	Incremental backups
Description	All data in your DB instance is backed up.	All data in your DB instance is backed up. A differential backup is a special kind of full backup.	Only data that has changed within a certain period is backed up.
Enabled by Default	Yes	Yes	Yes
Retention Period	Full backups are retained till the retention period expires.	Differential backups are retained till the retention period expires.	Incremental backups are retained till the retention period expires.
Characteristic	A full backup is to back up all data of your DB instance at the current point in time. You can use a full backup to restore the complete data generated when the backup was created. Full backups include automated backups and manual backups.	The system performs a logical full backup of all data in your DB instance at the current point in time, but in practice, it only backs up the deduplicated data from the last full backup. There are seven backups in a backup chain by default. The first automated backup is a full backup, and subsequent automated backups are differential backups. You can identify differential backups based on the backup duration. Full backups that differential backups depend on are not displayed on the management console after they expire. However, the OBS space may not be released immediately because unexpired backups in the same backup chain may depend on the expired ones. The backup space is only released after all full and differential backups in that chain are deleted. Only automated backups are supported.	The system automatically backs up data modifications made after the most recent automated or incremental backup every 5 minutes or when a certain amount of incremental data is generated. When there are many writes or the DB instance is overloaded, the upload of incremental backups may be delayed. Incremental backups are automated backups. Restoring data from incremental backups relies on the most recent full backup, so the most recent full backup that exceeds the retention period will not be deleted to ensure successful restoration.
How to View	Click the instance name. On the Backups page, click the Full Backups tab and view the backup size.	Click the instance name. On the Backups page, click the Full Backups tab and view the logical space size of a differential backup, that is, the total size of the differential backup and the referenced full backup.	Click the instance name. On the Backups page, click the Incremental Backups tab and view the backup size.

As shown in the figure, a backup chain contains seven backups by default. Starting with a full backup on Monday, the system performs daily differential backups from Tuesday to Sunday. Between these, the system automatically backs up the data updated since the last automated or incremental backup every 5 minutes or when a certain amount of data is generated.

Figure 1 Backup diagram
Click to enlarge

By Backup Method: Automated Backups and Manual Backups

**Table 2** Comparison between automated backups and manual backups
Backup Type	Automated backups	Manual backups
Description	You can set an automated backup policy on the management console, and the system will automatically back up your instance data based on the time window and backup cycle you set in the backup policy and will store the data for the retention period you specified. Automated backups cannot be manually deleted. To delete them, adjust the retention period specified in your backup policy. Retained backups (including full and incremental backups) will be automatically deleted at the end of the retention period.	Manual backups are user-initiated full backups of your DB instance. They are retained until you delete them manually. Regularly backing up your DB instance is recommended, so if your DB instance fails or data is corrupted, you can restore it using backups.
Enabled by Default	Yes	Yes
Retention Period	Automated backups are retained for the retention period you specified. The backup retention period ranges from 1 to 732 days.	Manual backups are always retained until you delete them manually.
How to Configure	Configuring a Same-Region Backup Policy	Manual Backups

By Backup Region: Same-Region Backups and Cross-Region Backups

Configuring a cross-region backup policy is in the OBT phase. To use it, submit a service ticket.

**Table 3** Comparison between same-region backups and cross-region backups
Backup Type	Same-region backups	Cross-region backups
Description	Backups are stored in the same region as your DB instance.	Backups are stored in a different region from that of your DB instance.
Enabled by Default	Yes	No
Retention Period	Same-region backups are retained for the retention period you specified. The backup retention period ranges from 1 to 732 days. NOTE: You can submit a service ticket to extend the retention period to up to 3,660 days.	Cross-region backups are retained for the retention period you specified. The backup retention period ranges from 1 to 1,825 days.
Characteristic	Backups are stored in the same region as your DB instance. Same-region backup (automated backup) is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.	Backups are stored in a region different from the region where your DB instance is located. After you enable cross-region backup, the backups are automatically stored in the region you specify.
How to Configure	Configuring a Same-Region Backup Policy	Configuring a Cross-Region Backup Policy
How to View	If cross-region backup is enabled: Click Backups in the navigation pane. On the Same-Region Backups tab, view the backup size. If cross-region backup is not enabled: Click Backups in the navigation pane and view the backup size.	Click Backups in the navigation pane. On the Cross-Region Backups tab, locate a DB instance and click View Cross-Region Backup in the Operation column.