This topic describes the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) database backup feature of Cloud Backup. It covers the benefits, how it works, procedure, billing, and supported database versions.
Introduction
Database Backup for ECS is a data protection solution provided by Cloud Backup for self-managed databases on ECS instances. This solution lets you back up data from a database to a Cloud Backup backup vault in a simple, secure, and reliable way. If your database system or its ECS instance fails, a logic error occurs, or the database is attacked by ransomware, you can fully recover the data from the Cloud Backup backup vault.
Cloud Backup does not support backing up databases that are deployed in containers.
The MySQL backup feature does not support backing up multiple MySQL instances on a single machine, such as a local server or an ECS instance.
Key advantages
Low cost
Cloud Backup does not charge instance configuration fees. You are charged only for backup storage. The storage fee is based on the capacity of the data after deduplication and compression.
Excellent performance
The backup process consumes minimal resources, typically less than 0.5 cores and 100 MB of memory. It provides high backup performance and offers real-time backup with a near-zero recovery point objective (RPO) for MySQL and Oracle.
Wide compatibility
Supports mainstream versions of MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server.
Simple configuration
After authorization, Cloud Backup automatically detects databases on ECS instances and then pushes and installs the backup client.
Automatic alerting
You can configure alert settings for failed jobs in the Cloud Backup console. Notifications can be sent by email, text message, or phone call.
Backup Lock protects against accidental deletion.
Cloud Backup provides a backup lock feature for backup vaults. With this feature, backup data cannot be deleted by any account or method until the configured retention period expires.
How it works
You can specify the ECS instance to back up in the Cloud Backup console. Cloud Backup then automatically pushes the backup client to the ECS instance. Make sure that Cloud Assistant is installed on the ECS instance. The backup client then backs up the specified database on the ECS instance based on the configured backup plan.
When a backup job runs, the Cloud Backup client invokes a backup instruction through the native backup component of the specified database instance. The client reads the backup data, performs deduplication and compression, and then uploads the data to the Cloud Backup backup vault to complete the backup.
Procedure
The following procedure shows how to back up an ECS-hosted database in the Cloud Backup console.
The procedures for backing up MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server databases that are hosted on ECS instances are basically the same. In this example, a MySQL database is backed up.
Cloud Backup registers databases based on username and password. To back up a MySQL or SQL Server database, you must obtain the username and password from the database administrator. Oracle databases can be registered without passwords.
You are not charged for activating Cloud Backup. You are charged for the rental and storage usage of backup vaults. You are not charged for using a vault in the first 30 days. You are charged after the free-trial period ends. You are charged for the backup storage based on the storage space occupied by the data that is deduplicated and compressed. A free capacity of 100 GB is provided for each backup vault per month. After the free quota is used up, you are charged based on tiered pricing. For more information, see Billing methods and billable items.
Register a database in the Cloud Backup console. Cloud Backup automatically installs a backup client on the ECS instance that hosts the database. Cloud Backup can discover the database that you want to back up only after you register the database. You are not charged for using Cloud Backup if you only register a database in the Cloud Backup console.
To ensure that your database can be backed up as expected, Cloud Backup provides the precheck feature to identify issues that may cause backup failure.
When you create a backup plan, configure the backup vault, data source, backup cycle, retention period, and backup policies (such as full backup and incremental backup). Cloud Backup starts the backup plan and continuously backs up data from the specified database.
You are not charged for restoring a database. If a database exception occurs, you can restore the data of the database to the source database or another registered database within the same account in the same region based on recovery points.
Billing
The ECS database backup feature of Cloud Backup incurs the following two types of fees:
Database backup vault rental fee
You must create backup vaults for your databases. Multiple databases in a region can share a backup vault. Each backup vault includes a certain amount of free capacity. For more information, see Pricing details.
Database backup storage capacity fee
Each database backup vault provides 100 GB of free capacity. You are charged for any excess storage usage. You are charged based on the storage space occupied by the deduplicated and compressed data. For more information, see Pricing details.
In addition, Cloud Backup charges the following fees for specific configurations or operations:
Geo-redundancy fees: If you use the mirror vault feature to replicate data from a backup vault in one Alibaba Cloud region to another for geo-redundancy, you are charged for the storage capacity of the mirror vault and for cross-region replication traffic. The storage capacity and pricing for the mirror vault are the same as those for the source backup vault.
What to do next
Learn how to back up ECS-hosted databases. For more information, see Register an ECS-hosted MySQL database, Register an ECS-hosted Oracle database, and Register an ECS-hosted SQL Server database.
View answers to frequently asked questions. For more information, see FAQ.
Learn about the best practices of Cloud Backup. For more information, see Best practices.