Replicating Backups Across Regions

Scenarios

Cross-region replication of server backup vaults allows you to replicate backups from one region to another in the same account.

Replicas of server backups can be used to create images and provision servers.

With cross-region replication, you can quickly deploy services in a different region. The new resources created from replicated backups are in the same state as the original resources when you took the backup.

You can replicate backups in either of the following methods on the CBR console:

• Select a backup from the backup list and manually replicate it.
• Select a backup vault and manually replicate it. Alternatively, you can configure a replication policy to periodically replicate backups that have not been replicated or failed to be replicated to the destination region.

This section uses the first method to describe how to replicate a backup. For details about the second method, see Replicating a Vault Across Regions.

Constraints

• A server backup can be replicated only when it meets all the following conditions:
  1. It is an ECS backup.
  2. It contains system disk data.
  3. It is in the Available state.
• Only backups or backup vaults can be replicated. Replicated backups and vaults cannot be replicated again but can be used to create images.
• A backup can be replicated to multiple regions but can have only one replica in each destination region. Replication rules vary with the replication method:

  Manual replication: A backup can be manually replicated to the destination region as long as it has no replica in that region. A backup can be manually replicated again if its replica in the destination region has been deleted.

  For manual and policy-based vault replication, a vault can only be replicated to a destination region once. It cannot be replicated to that region again, even if its backups have been deleted.

• Only replication-supported regions can be selected as destination regions.

(Optional) Create a Replication Vault in the Destination Region

If there is at least one vault with the cross-region replication protection type in the destination region, skip this step.

1. Go to the Buy Server Backup Vault page.
2. Specify mandatory parameters for the server backup vault. For parameters not included in the following table, retain the default values.

   Complete Basic Settings and select a Protection Type.

   Parameter	Example Value	Description
   Region	-	Target region where the backups will be replicated. Resources in different regions cannot communicate with each other over internal networks. Only replication-supported regions can be selected as destination regions. After a vault is created, the region cannot be changed. Exercise caution when selecting a region.
   Protection Type	Replication (cross-region)	A replication vault will be created to store server backup replicas. For example, if you want to back up a server, select Backup for the vault protection type. If you want to replicate backups of a server from one region to another, select Replication (cross-region) for the vault in this other region.

   Set the Backup Capacity.

   Parameter	Example Value	Description
   Vault Capacity	100G	Specify the vault capacity. The capacity ranges from 10 GB to 10485760 GB. You need to plan the vault capacity in advance. The capacity of the replication vault cannot be less than the size of the backups to be replicated. As the vault's used space grows, you can expand the vault capacity if it becomes insufficient.

   Configure Enterprise Project and Advanced Settings.

   Parameter	Example Value	Description
   Enterprise Project	default	Add the vault to an existing enterprise project. This parameter is only available for enterprise users who have enabled enterprise project management.
   Vault Name	vault-317a	Name of the vault to be created. A name can contain 1 to 64 characters. Only letters, digits, underscores (_), and hyphens (-) are allowed. You can also use the default name vault_xxxx.

3. Click Next.
4. Click Submit. Confirm the order details. The vault creation is complete.
5. Go back to the Cloud Server Backups page. You can view the created vault in the vault list. The vault is in the Available state.

Create a Cross-region Backup Replication

1. Click in the upper left corner of the management console and select the region where the backups to be replicated are located.
2. Click the Backups tab. Locate the desired backup. For details, see Viewing a Backup.
3. Choose More > Create Replica in the Operation column of the backup.

4. In the displayed dialog box, configure the parameters as described in Table 1.

   Table 1 Parameter description

   Parameter	Description
   Name	Replica name. You can enter a custom name or use the default name resource name_xxxx. A name can contain 1 to 64 characters. Only letters, digits, underscores (_), and hyphens (-) are allowed.
   Description	Replica description. This parameter is optional. It cannot exceed 255 characters.
   Destination Region	Region that the backup is replicated to. Only the regions that support replication will be displayed. If the selected region contains only one project, you can directly select the region name. If the selected region has multiple projects, the default project of the region is preselected. You can select another project if needed.
   Destination Vault	A replication vault in the destination region You can replicate backups to vaults in multiple destination regions. Creating replica will replicate all backups in the source vault to the destination vault.

5. Click OK.
6. After the replication is complete, you can switch to the destination region to view generated replicas. For details, see Viewing a Backup. You can then use the backups to create images.