To back up an SQL Server database hosted on an ECS instance, you must first register the instance in the Cloud Backup console. This registration process automatically installs the necessary backup client onto the ECS instance. Once the client is active, the database is ready for backup job creation.
Prerequisites
Cloud Backup is activated. Activating Cloud Backup is free. Using the database backup feature of Cloud Backup incurs the following fees:
A rental fee for the database backup vault. The service is free for the first 30 days for each Alibaba Cloud account (UID) and includes a free monthly quota of 100 GB per vault.
A storage fee for database backup capacity. You are charged based on the storage size after data deduplication and compression. The storage is free for the first 30 days and is then billed on a tiered pricing model.
- Note
If you only register the SQL Server database instance in the console and do not create a backup plan, Cloud Backup does not charge any fees.
For more information, see Pricing.
Complete the preparations.
Usage notes
If you only register the SQL Server database instance in the console and do not create a backup plan, Cloud Backup does not charge any fees.
For limitations on supported database versions, operating systems, and backup features, see Compatibility list and limitations.
Ensure that the ECS instance has .NET Framework 4.5 or later installed.
SQL Server does not support database files that are located on a compressed file system. For more information about database installation limitations, see File Locations for Default and Named Instances of SQL Server.
If an SQL Server database uses the simple recovery model (the Log Backup), Log Backup is not supported. Use Full Backup or Cumulative Incremental Backup instead.
The master database in SQL Server supports only Full Backup. Cumulative Incremental Backup and Log Backup are not supported.
Procedure
Log on to the Cloud Backup console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose . Select the region where your instance is located, and then click the SQL Server tab. On the ECS Database Instance tab, click Register Database Instance.
In the Register SQL Server Instance panel, select the target instance and click Next.
NoteThe system automatically loads all ECS database instances in the selected region. If your database instance is not listed, click Discover Database. Cloud Assistant then scans your ECS instances to find databases.
For information about supported database versions and backup features, see Supported database versions and backup features.
On the Config Link Info tab, configure the parameters as described in the following table and click OK.
Parameter
Description
Database Account
Enter the username. A dedicated backup account is strongly recommended over a system administrator for security. See required permissions below.
Server roles: sysadmin and dbcreator.
Database roles: db_backupoperator and db_owner.
For more information, see Step 2: Create a backup account and configure permissions.
Password
The password for the specified database account.
After the instance is registered, the ECS backup client is installed on the SQL Server node. The installation status of the backup client is displayed on the ECS Database Instance tab. The ECS backup client can be upgraded based on your business requirements. The status of the SQL Server database instance changes to Online.
More operations
Unregister Instance
If you no longer need to back up an SQL Server database instance, find the instance on the ECS Database Instance tab. In the Actions column, click the More icon (⋮) and select Unregister Instance. In the dialog box, click Confirmation.
WarningAfter an instance is unregistered, its existing backups cannot be restored. Proceed with caution.
Create Cluster
If your SQL Server database instance is part of a cluster, you must manually create the cluster after you register the instance. Cloud Backup backs up the database instances in the cluster to the same database backup vault. On the ECS Database Instance tab, select the database instances that you want to add to the cluster and click Create Cluster. In the panel, select the database instances to include in the cluster and click OK to create the cluster.
NoteAfter you create an SQL Server Always On cluster, you only need to configure a backup plan for one instance in the cluster.