Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance

Restore the data to an existing RDS instance

You can restore the data of your RDS instance to the original RDS instance or to a different existing RDS instance. During this process, you can specify to restore some or all of the databases that are created on your RDS instance. In addition, you can specify to restore the data from a data backup file or to a specific point in time.

1. Visit the RDS instance list, select a region above, and click the target instance ID.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.
3. Click Restore.
4. In the Select Restore Method dialog box, select Restore to Existing Instance and click OK.
5. Configure the following parameters and click OK.

   Parameter	Description
   Restore Method	By Time: allows you to restore data to a point in time within the specified log retention period. The time is accurate to the second. For more information about how to view or change the log backup retention period, see Back up an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance. By Backup Set: allows you to restore the data from a full or incremental data backup file.
   Restore Time	This parameter appears only when you set the Restore Method parameter to By Time. Select the point in time to which you want to restore the data.
   Backup Set	This parameter appears only when you set the Restore Method parameter to By Backup Set. Select the data backup file from which you want to restore the data.
   More Backup Sets	This parameter displays the latest 1,000 data backup files. If you cannot find the required data backup file from the Backup Set drop-down list, you can select this check box. Then, ApsaraDB RDS displays more data backup files for you to search.
   Destination Instance Name	Select the destination RDS instance to which you want to restore the data. By default, ApsaraDB RDS displays all the RDS instances that are created within your Alibaba Cloud account and reside in the selected region. These displayed RDS instances include the original RDS instance whose data you want to restore. Note If you use a snapshot backup file, you can restore the data only to an RDS instance on which the snapshot backup feature is enabled. For more information, see Snapshot backup. The destination RDS instance can run a higher SQL Server version than the original RDS instance. If the original RDS instance belongs to the shared instance family, you cannot restore the data of the instance to a general-purpose or dedicated RDS instance. Similarly, if the original RDS instance belongs to the general-purpose or dedicated instance family, you cannot restore the data of the instance to a shared RDS instance. If ApsaraDB RDS displays a large number of RDS instances, you can enter a keyword in the Destination Instance Name field to search for the required destination RDS instance.
   Databases to Restore	Select the databases that you want to restore. By default, ApsaraDB RDS displays and selects all the databases that are created on the original RDS instance. If you want to restore all the data of the original RDS instance, select all the databases. If you want to restore one or more databases, select only the required databases. Specify the names that you want to use for the selected databases on the destination RDS instance. By default, the original names of the selected databases are retained. Note The names of the selected databases on the original RDS instance cannot be the same as those of the existing databases on the destination RDS instance.

   Note

   • If a selected database on the original RDS instance has the same name as an existing database on the destination RDS instance, you must specify New Database Name for the selected database.
   • The value of New Database Name can contain only lowercase letters, digits, underscores (_), and hyphens (-).

Restore the data to a new RDS instance

You can restore the data of your RDS instance to a new RDS instance. This process was previously known as instance cloning. During this process, you can specify to restore the data from a data backup file or to a specific point in time. If you restore the data from a data backup file, you can restore some or all of the databases whose data is included in the file.

You must pay for the new RDS instance. The required fee is the same as the amount you pay when you purchase the RDS instance. If you no longer require the original RDS instance after the restoration, we recommend that you immediately release or unsubscribe from the instance. For more information, see Release or unsubscribe from an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.

1. Visit the RDS instance list, select a region above, and click the target instance ID.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.
3. Click Restore.
4. In the dialog box that appears, select Restore to New Instance and click OK.
5. On the Restore Database (Previously Clone Instance) page, configure the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Billing Method	Subscription: A subscription instance is an instance that you can subscribe to for a specific period and pay for up front. For long-term use, the subscription billing method is more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method. You can receive larger discounts for longer subscription periods. Pay-As-You-Go: A pay-as-you-go instance is charged per hour based on your actual resource usage. The pay-as-you-go billing method is suitable for short-term use. If you no longer require your pay-as-you-go instance, you can release the instance to reduce costs.
   Restore Method	By Time: allows you to restore data to a point in time within the specified log retention period. The time is accurate to the second. For more information about how to view or change the log backup retention period, see Back up an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance. By Backup Set: allows you to restore the data from a data backup file. Note The By Time option appears only when the log backup feature is enabled. You can restore some or all of the databases that are created on the original RDS instance.
   Database	Specify whether to restore some or all of the databases that are created on the original RDS instance. If you select Part, you must manually enter the names of the databases that you want to restore. In addition, you must separate the database names with commas (,). Note If you have enabled the snapshot backup feature for the original RDS instance, you can select only All but not Part. For more information, see Snapshot backup.
   Edition	Basic: The database system consists of only one RDS instance. Computing is separated from storage to increase cost-effectiveness. High-availability: The database system consists of one primary RDS instance and one secondary RDS instance. These RDS instances work in the high availability architecture. Cluster: The database system consists of one primary RDS instance, one secondary RDS instance, and up to seven read-only RDS instances. You can create read-only RDS instances to scale up the read capability of the database system. Note The available RDS editions vary based on the selected region and database engine version. For more information, see Overview of ApsaraDB RDS editions.
   Zone	A zone is an independent physical location within a region. The Zone of Primary Node parameter specifies the zone to which the primary RDS instance belongs. The Zone of Secondary Node parameter specifies the zone to which the secondary RDS instance belongs. You can select the Single-zone Deployment or Multi-zone Development method. Single-zone Deployment: If you select this deployment method, the Zone of Primary Node and the Zone of Secondary Node are the same. Multi-zone Development: This is the recommended deployment method. If you select this deployment method, the Zone of Primary Node and the Zone of Secondary Node are different. This allows you to provide zone-level disaster recovery. You must manually specify the Zone of Primary Node and the Zone of Secondary Node. Note After the RDS instance is created, you can view information about the RDS instance and its secondary RDS instance on the Service Availability page. If you select the RDS Basic Edition, the database system consists of only one primary RDS instance and supports only the single-zone deployment method.
   Instance Type	General-purpose (Entry-level): belongs to the general-purpose instance family. A general-purpose instance exclusively occupies the allocated memory and I/O resources. However, it shares CPU and storage resources with the other general-purpose instances that are deployed on the same server. Dedicated Instance (Enterprise-level): belongs to the dedicated instance family. A dedicated instance exclusively occupies the allocated CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources. The dedicated host instance family is the top configuration of the dedicated instance family. A dedicated host instance exclusively occupies all the CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources of the server where it is deployed. Dedicated: A dedicated cluster exclusively occupies all the resources on a VM or physical host. The permissions to manage hosts in a dedicated cluster can be authorized to you. This allows you to create multiple database instances on a host. For more information, see Create hosts. Note Each instance type supports a specific number of CPU cores, memory capacity, maximum number of connections, and maximum IOPS. For more information, see Primary ApsaraDB RDS instance types.
   Capacity	The storage capacity that the RDS instance has available to store data files, system files, binary log files, and transaction files. The storage capacity increases in increments of 5 GB. Note The dedicated instance family supports exclusive allocations of resources. Therefore, the storage capacity of each instance type with local SSDs in this family is fixed. For more information, see Primary ApsaraDB RDS instance types.

6. Click Next: Instance Configuration.
7. Configure the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Network Type	Classic Network: the traditional type of network. VPC: the recommended type of network. A virtual private cloud (VPC) is an isolated virtual network that provides higher security and better performance than the classic network. If you select the VPC network type, you must also specify the VPC parameter and the vSwitch of Primary Node parameter. If you select the Multi-zone Deployment method in the Basic Configurations step, you must specify both the VSwitch of Primary Node and VSwitch of Secondary Node parameters. Note The RDS instance must have the same network type as the ECS instance that you want to connect. If the RDS and ECS instances both have the VPC network type, these instances must also reside in the same VPC. Otherwise, these instances cannot communicate over an internal network.
   Resource Group	The resource group to which the new RDS instance belongs.

8. Click Next: Confirm Order.
9. Confirm the settings in the Parameters section, specify the Purchase Plan and Duration parameters, read and select Terms of Service, click Pay Now, and then complete the payment. If the new RDS instance uses the subscription billing method, you must specify the Duration parameter.

Restore the data to the original RDS instance by using a temporary RDS instance

For more information, see Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance by using a temporary RDS instance.

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