Enable cross-region backups for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance

Differences between cross-region backups and default backups

Prerequisites

Billing

Precautions

Configure cross-region backups in the ApsaraDB RDS console

• To enable cross-region backups for a single RDS instance, perform the following operations:
  1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the RDS instance resides.
  2. Find the RDS instance for which you want to enable cross-region backups. In the Actions column, choose More > Cross-region Backup Settings.
     Note

     • You can also go to the Backup and Restoration page, click the Backup Settings tab, and then click Edit in the Cross-region Backup Settings section.
     • If the Cross-region Backup Settings tab cannot be found, you must check whether the RDS instance meets all prerequisites.
  3. Configure the following parameters.

     Parameter	Description
     Cross-region Backup Status	Specify whether to enable or disable cross-region backups. Select Enable.
     Backup Region	Select the destination region to which the backup files of the RDS instance are automatically replicated.
     Cross-region Retention Period	Specify the retention period of cross-region backup files. Valid values: 7 to 1825. Unit: days. The longest cross-region backup retention period spans five years. Note After the RDS instance expires or is released, its cross-region backup files are still retained based on the cross-region backup retention period that you specify. You can log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console, click Backups in the left-side navigation pane, and then click the Cross-region Backup tab to view the cross-region backup files that are retained.
     Cross-region Log Backup Status:	Specify whether to enable or disable cross-region log backups. After you enable cross-region log backups, the log backup files of the RDS instance are automatically replicated to a specified Object Storage Service (OSS) bucket in the destination region.

  4. Click OK.
• To enable cross-region backups for multiple RDS instances at a time, perform the following operations:
  1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backups. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the RDS instance resides.
  2. Click the Cross-region Backup tab. On the tab that appears, click the Pending Instances tab.
  3. Select the RDS instances for which you want to enable cross-region backups. Then, click Backup Settings.
     Note You can also click Settings in the Cross-region Backup Settings column of a single RDS instance to enable cross-region backups only for that RDS instance.
  4. Configure the following parameters.

     Parameter	Description
     Cross-region Backup Status	Specify whether to enable or disable cross-region backups. Select Enable.
     Backup Region	Select the destination region to which the backup files of the RDS instance are automatically replicated.
     Cross-region Retention Period	Specify the retention period of cross-region backup files. Valid values: 7 to 1825. Unit: days. The longest cross-region backup retention period spans five years. Note After the RDS instance expires or is released, its cross-region backup files are still retained based on the cross-region backup retention period that you specify. You can log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console, click Backups in the left-side navigation pane, and then click the Cross-region Backup tab to view the cross-region backup files that are retained.
     Cross-region Log Backup Status:	Specify whether to enable or disable cross-region log backups. After you enable cross-region log backups, the log backup files of the RDS instance are automatically replicated to a specified Object Storage Service (OSS) bucket in the destination region.

  5. Click OK.
• To modify the cross-region backup settings of an RDS instance, perform the following operations:
  1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backups. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the RDS instance resides.
  2. On the Backups page, click the Cross-region Backup tab. Click the Backup Instances tab and find the RDS instance whose cross-region backup settings you want to modify. Then, click Settings in the Cross-region Backup Settings column to modify the cross-region backup settings of the RDS instance.
     Note If the RDS instance is released, you can modify only the cross-region backup retention period.
• To disable cross-region backups for an RDS instance, perform the following operations:

  If you no longer require cross-region backups, you can disable cross-region backups.

  1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backups. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the RDS instance resides.
  2. On the Backups page, click the Cross-region Backup tab. Click the Backup Instances tab and find the RDS instance for which you want to disable cross-region backups. Then, click Settings in the Cross-region Backup Settings column.
  3. In the dialog box that appears, set the Cross-region Backup Status parameter to Disabled and set the Cross-region Retention Period parameter to 7.
     Note After you disable cross-region backups, no new cross-region backup files are generated. However, the existing cross-region backup files are still retained for at least seven days. You can set the cross-region backup retention period to seven days. After the seven-day retention period that you specify elapses, all existing cross-region backup files are automatically deleted. Then, you are no longer charged for the storage of cross-region backup files.
  4. Click OK.
• To download the cross-region data backup files of an RDS instance, perform the following operations:

  After a cross-region backup is complete, you can download the generated cross-region backup files in the ApsaraDB RDS console.

  1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backups. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the RDS instance resides.
  2. On the Backups page, click the Cross-region Backup tab. Click the Backup Instances tab and click the ID of the RDS instance for which you want to download cross-region backup files.
  3. On the Data Backup tab or the Log Backup tabs, click Download in the Actions column to download the full data backup file or the incremental backup file.
  4. Click Download.
     Note If you download data backup files over an internal network, the traffic is free of charge. If you download data backup files the Internet, the traffic is charged. For more information, see Network traffic fees.

Enable cross-region backups for an RDS instance by using DBS

In this example, the source region is China (Hangzhou), and the destination region is China (Beijing).

To create a cross-region backup for an RDS instance, perform the following operations:

1. Log on to the DBS console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup Schedules. In the upper-left corner of the Backup Schedules page, select the region where you purchase the backup schedule. In this example, select the China (Beijing) region.
3. Find the ID of the backup schedule that you want to configure and click Configure Backup Schedule in the Actions column.
   
4. In the Configure Backup Source and Destination step of the Configure Backup Schedule wizard, configure the backup source and destination, and click Next in the lower-right corner of the page.
   

   Table 1. Database parameters

   Section	Parameter	Description
   N/A	Schedule Name	The name of the backup schedule. DBS generates a backup schedule name. We recommend that you set a descriptive name that is easy to identify. Backup schedule names do not have to be unique.
   Backup Source Information	Backup Mode	The method used to back up data. By default, the backup method that you selected when you purchased the backup schedule is used. In this example, this parameter is set to Logical Backup by default.
   	Database Location	The location of the database that you want to back up. In this example, select RDS Instance.
   	Instance Region	The region where the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that you want to back up resides. To implement geo-redundancy, do not select the region where you purchase the backup schedule. In this example, select the China (Hangzhou) region.
   	RDS Instance ID	The ID of the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that you want to back up.
   	Database Account	The username of the account used to connect to the database that you want to back up. To back up the database, make sure that the account has the read permissions in the RDS console. For more information, see Account permissions.
   	Password	Enter the password of the database account. After you enter the username and password of the database account, click Test Connection next to the password to check whether the information of the database that you want to back up is valid. If the specified parameters are valid, the Test Passed message appears. If the Test Failed message appears, click Check next to Test Failed. Modify the information about the instance that you want to back up based on the check results.
   	SSL Encryption	The method used to encrypt the backup data. Valid values: Non-encrypted SSL-encrypted: SSL encrypts network connections at the transport layer to improve the security and integrity of data in transit. However, SSL increases the network connection response time. If you want to select SSL-encrypted, you must enable SSL encryption for the ApsaraDB RDS instance before you configure the backup schedule. For more information, see Enable SSL encryption.
   Backup Destination Information	Backup Storage Type	The type of storage used to back up data. Valid values: DBS Storage (recommended): Backup data is stored in DBS without requiring you to create storage space. You are charged based on the volume of your data that is stored in DBS. For more information about the billing method, see Storage fees. To reduce storage costs, we recommend that you use subscription storage plans. For more information, see Use storage plans. OSS For User: You must create a bucket in the Object Storage Service (OSS) console in advance. For more information, see Create buckets. Note In this example, select DBS built-in storage (recommended). If you select OSS for user, you must set the OSS Bucket Name parameter.
   	Storage Encryption	The method used to encrypt the stored data. Valid values: Encrypted (recommended): DBS uses AES-256, one of the advanced encryption standard ciphers, to encrypt the stored data. The server-side encryption feature is used in OSS. When you upload an object to OSS, OSS encrypts and stores the object. When you download the encrypted object from OSS, OSS decrypts the object and returns the decrypted object to you. For more information, see Server-side encryption. Non-encrypted: The backup data is not encrypted.
   	OSS Bucket Name	The name of the OSS bucket that you want to use to store data. This parameter is displayed only when you set the Backup Storage Type parameter to OSS For User.

5. In the Edit Backup Objects step, find the database or table that you want to back up and add it to the Selected section. Then, click Next.
   Note If you back up an entire database instance, additional database objects such as indexes and stored procedure are backed up. Each database supports different objects. For more information, see Database engines and features.
6. In the Configure Backup Time step, set the parameters that are described in the following table and click Next in the lower-right corner of the page.

   Parameter	Description
   Full-scale Backup Frequency	The frequency of the backup schedule. Select Periodic Backup or Single Backup as needed. Note If you set this parameter to Periodic Backup, you must set the Full Data Backup Recurrence and Start At parameters.
   Full Data Backup Recurrence	The days of the week on which DBS runs the backup schedule. You can select one or more days of a week. Select at least one day of the week.
   Start At	The start time of the backup, such as 01:00. We recommend that you set a time during off-peak hours. Note If a previous full data backup is not finished at the start time of the next backup, DBS skips the next backup.
   Incremental Backup	Specifies whether to enable incremental backup. If you enable incremental backup, make sure that the binary logging feature is enabled for the database that you want to back up. By default, the binary logging feature is enabled for ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL databases. This parameter is displayed only when you set the Full-scale Backup Frequency parameter to Periodic Backup.
   Maximum Concurrent Threads for Full Data Backup	The maximum number of concurrent threads available for a full backup. You can set this parameter to adjust the backup speed. For example, reduce the number of backup threads to minimize the impact on the database. The maximum number of actual concurrent threads varies based on backup schedule specifications. For more information, see How do I change the maximum backup speed?.
   Backup network speed limit	The limit on the network bandwidth. You can set the limit based on your needs. Default value: 0, which indicates that the network bandwidth is unlimited.

7. In the Edit Lifecycle step, configure the lifecycle for full backup data in the Configure Full Data Backup Lifecycle section.
   If you set the Incremental real-time backup parameter to Enable in Step 6, you must configure the lifecycle for incremental backup data. For more information about the lifecycle rules of backup data, see How do I manage the lifecycle rules of backup sets?.
8. After the configurations are complete, click Precheck in the lower-right corner of the page.
9. If the Precheck Passed message appears, click Start Task.
   

   Note When the status of the backup schedule changes to Running, the backup schedule takes effect.
   After data is backed up, you can view the backup schedule or restore the backup data. For more information, see View backup schedules and Restore a MySQL database from a logical backup.

To download the data backup files of an RDS instance, perform the following operations:

FAQ

After I disable cross-region backups for my RDS instance, why am I still charged for the storage of cross-region backup files?

After you disable cross-region backups for your RDS instance, no new cross-region backup files are generated and you are no longer charged for the traffic that is consumed to transmit cross-region backup files. However, you are still charged for the storage of the existing cross-region backup files within the cross-region backup retention period that you specify. The existing cross-region backup files are retained for at least seven days. You can set the cross-region backup retention period to seven days. After the cross-region backup retention period that you specify elapses, all existing cross-region backup files are automatically deleted and you are no longer charged for the storage of cross-region backup files.

Related API operations