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Cloud Backup:Overview (ECS-hosted databases)

Last Updated:Oct 15, 2024

This topic provides an overview of the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) database backup feature provided by Cloud Backup, including the benefits, working principles, procedure, supported database versions, and billing of the feature.

Introduction

ECS database backup is a data protection solution provided by Cloud Backup for self-managed databases that are hosted on ECS instances. Cloud Backup allows you to back up data from a database to a backup vault in a simple, secure, and reliable manner. If your database system or the ECS instance fails, a logical error occurs in the database, or the database encounters ransomware attacks, you can restore data from the backup vault.

Important
  • Cloud Backup cannot back up databases deployed in containers.

  • The MySQL backup feature does not support backing up multiple MySQL databases deployed on a single on-premises server or ECS instance.

Benefits

  • Low costs

    Cloud Backup does not charge instance configuration fees. You are charged for the backup storage based on the storage space occupied by the data that is deduplicated and compressed.

  • High backup performance

    Database backup consumes less than 100 MB memory and 0.5 core CPU. MySQL and Oracle databases can be backed up in real time with a near-zero recovery point objective (RPO).

  • Compatibility

    The mainstream versions of MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server are supported.

  • Simple configurations

    After you register a database, Cloud Backup automatically identifies the database on the ECS instance, pushes the backup client to the ECS instance, and installs the client on the ECS instance.

  • Automatic alerting

    In the Cloud Backup console, you can configure alert rules to monitor backup jobs. If a backup job fails, the system automatically sends alert notifications to the specified alert contacts by using emails, text messages, and phone calls.

  • Immutable backup against accidental deletion

    Cloud Backup provides the immutable backup feature based on backup vaults. Backup data cannot be deleted by any account or method before the configured retention period expires.

How it works

You can specify the ECS instance to be backed up in the Cloud Backup console. Cloud Backup automatically pushes the backup client to the ECS instance. You must make sure that Cloud Assistant is installed on the ECS instance. The client backs up the specified database on the ECS instance based on the backup plan that you configure.

When a backup plan is executed, the Cloud Backup client calls a backup command by using the native backup component of the specified database instance, reads the source data, deduplicates and compresses the data, and then uploads the data to the backup vault.

Procedure

The following procedure shows how to back up an ECS-hosted database in the Cloud Backup console.

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Note
  • 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.

  1. Activate Cloud Backup

    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.

  2. Register a database

    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.

  3. Precheck a database

    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.

  4. Back up a database

    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.

  5. Restore a 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.

Supported database versions

  • Oracle

    The following table lists the operating systems and backup features that are supported by each version of Oracle databases.

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    Real-time backup

    Oracle

    9i

    RHEL 4, RHEL 5, SLES 9, SUSE 9.3, and CentOS 4.5

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    10g

    RHEL 4, RHEL 5, RHEL 6.5, RHEL 9, CentOS 4.6, and SUSE 11 SP4

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    11g

    RHEL 5, RHEL 6, RHEL 6.5, RHEL 7, CentOS 6.4, CentOS 6.5, Oracle Enterprise Linux 6.7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Alibaba Cloud Linux 2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    12c

    Windows Server 2008 R2, RHEL 6.5, and RHEL 7.5

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    18c

    RHEL 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    19c

    Oracle Enterprise Linux7.0

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

  • Oracle RAC

    The following table lists the operating systems and backup features that are supported by each version of Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC).

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    Real-time backup

    Oralce RAC

    9i

    SUSE 9.3 and RHEL 4

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    10g

    RHEL 5 and Windows Server 2008 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    11g

    Windows Server 2008 R2, Oracle Linux 6.4, RHEL 5, RHEL 6.5, and iSoft Server 3

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    12c

    CentOS 6, CentOS 6.7, RHEL 6.5, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Oracle Enterprise Linux 6

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    18c

    Windows Server 2008 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    19c

    RHEL 7.6

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

  • Oracle Data Guard

    The following table lists the operating systems and backup features that are supported by each version of Oracle Data Guard.

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    Real-time backup

    Oracle Data Guard

    11g

    CentOS 6.4, CentOS 6.5, RHEL 6, and Windows Server 2008 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    12c

    Oracle Enterprise Linux6

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

  • MySQL

    The following table lists the operating systems and backup features that are supported by each version of MySQL databases.

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    Real-time backup

    MySQL

    5.0

    RHEL 5, RHEL 6, RHEL 6.5, Ubuntu 11.10, Ubuntu 12.10, SLES 10, SUSE 11 SP4, and NeoKylin 6.0

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    5.1

    RHEL 6, RHEL 6.5, and SUSE 11 SP4

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    5.4

    RHEL 6.5 and SUSE 11 SP4

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    5.5

    Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Debian 7.8, Debian 8.3, CentOS 6.0, and RHEL 6.5

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    5.6

    RHEL 5, RHEL 6, RHEL 6.5, Ubuntu 14.04, CentOS 6.0, and CentOS 7.2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    5.7

    RHEL 6, RHEL 6.5, RHEL 7, CentOS 7.0, CentOS 7.2, Ubuntu 16.04, NeoKylin 7.0, Alibaba Cloud Linux 2, and Alibaba Cloud Linux 3

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

  • MariaDB

    The following table lists the supported versions, operating systems, and backup features of MariaDB databases.

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    Real-time backup

    MariaDB

    5.5, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3

    CentOS 7.0 and Ubuntu 18.04

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

  • SQL Server

    The following table lists the operating systems and backup features that are supported by each version of SQL Server databases.

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    SQL Server

    2005

    Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2008

    Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2008 R2

    Windows Server 2008 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2012

    Windows Server 2012 RC

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2014

    Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2016

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2016 (RTM)

    Windows Server 2012 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2017

    Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2016

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

    2019

    Windows Server 2016

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

  • SQL Server Always On

    The following table lists the supported versions, operating systems, and backup features of SQL Server Always On availability groups.

    Database type

    Supported version

    Supported operating system

    Minimum backup granularity

    Backup feature

    Full backup

    Incremental backup

    Log backup (scheduled backup)

    SQL Server Always On

    2012, 2016, and 2017

    Windows Server 2012 R2

    Instance

    Supported

    Supported

    Supported

Billing

You are charged for the ECS database backup feature of Cloud Backup based on the following billable items:

  1. Rental of database backup vaults

    You must create backup vaults for your databases. Multiple databases in a region can share a backup vault. Each backup vault contains a certain amount of free capacity. For more information, see Pricing of Cloud Backup.

  2. Storage usage of database backup vaults

    Each database backup vault provides a free capacity of 100 GB. You are charged for the excess storage usage. You are charged based on the storage space occupied by the data that is deduplicated and compressed. For more information, see Pricing of Cloud Backup.

Cloud Backup also charges the following fees based on specific configurations or operations:

Geo-redundancy fees: If you create a remote mirror vault to copy data from a backup vault in an Alibaba Cloud region to another region for geo-redundancy, you are charged for the storage capacity of the mirror vault and the cross-region replication traffic. The size of the mirror vault is the same as that of the source backup vault, and the pricing is the same.

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