Logical backup and restoration for cross-cloud or self-managed MySQL - Data Management

Data Backup Service (DBS) can be used for the geo-redundancy, long-term archiving, and single-table restoration of MySQL databases. This topic describes how to use DBS to back up and restore a cross-cloud or self-managed MySQL database.

Feature overview

Feature	Description
Incremental backup	Retrieves binary logs in real time to perform incremental backups.
Full backup	Logical backups are stored in the Parquet format. Physical backups are stored in the gzip format by default.
Download backup files	You can download backup sets.
Geo-redundancy	You can back up a MySQL database to a different region and restore the data to an ApsaraDB RDS instance or a self-managed MySQL database in the source, destination, or another region.
Long-term archiving	You can retain backup sets for up to 10 years. Backup sets automatically transition to archival storage.
Fine-grained backup	You can back up an multiple databases, a single database, or a single table.
Single-table restoration	You can restore a single table without restoring the entire database instance, which reduces the recovery time. When you configure the objects to restore, simply select the target table.

Create a backup schedule

For detailed instructions, see Create a backup schedule.

Note

When you purchase the backup schedule, select MySQL as the database type and logical backup as the backup method.
To learn about the granularity for backing up and restoring MySQL databases, see Supported database types and features.
During the full backup phase, do not perform DDL operations that change the database or table schema. Otherwise, the backup may fail or the data may not be restorable.

Configure a backup schedule

Log on to the Data Management Service (DMS) console V5.0.
In the top navigation bar, choose Security and disaster recovery (DBS) > Data Disaster Recovery (DBS) > Backup Plan.

Note
If you use the DMS console in simple mode, move the pointer over the icon in the upper-left corner of the DMS console and choose All Features > Security and disaster recovery (DBS) > Data Disaster Recovery (DBS) > Backup Plan.
Find the target backup schedule ID and click Actions in the Configure Backup Schedule column.

On the Configure Backup Source and Destination page, configure the backup source and destination information, and then click Next in the lower-right corner.

Table 1. Database configuration

Section	Parameter	Description
N/A	Backup schedule name	DBS automatically generates a task name. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name for easy identification. The name does not need to be unique.
Backup Source Information	Backup method	This parameter defaults to the backup method that you selected when you created the backup schedule. In this example, logical backup is selected.
	Database location	Select a value based on the type of the source database that you want to back up: No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway): Backs up a self-managed database by using a database gateway. You must configure a database gateway for the database instance in advance and select the target Database Gateway ID in this step. User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number>: Backs up a self-managed database over the Internet. You must also configure the connection address and port for the source database instance. ECS-Hosted Database: Backs up a database that is deployed on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance. You must also configure the ECS instance ID and the database port for the source database instance. Express Connect DB/VPN Gateway/Intelligent Gateway: Backs up a self-managed database over a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). You must configure a VPC for the database instance in advance and select the target Peer VPC in this step. PolarDB: Backs up a PolarDB for MySQL cluster. You must also select the source PolarDB Cluster ID.
	Instance region	Select the region of the source database instance. Note This parameter is displayed only when you select RDS Instance, PolarDB, ECS-Hosted Database, or No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway).
	PolarDB cluster ID	Select the PolarDB cluster that you want to back up.
	Database type	The default value is MySQL. Note This parameter is displayed only if you select User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number>, PolarDB, ECS-Hosted Database, Express Connect DB/VPN Gateway/Intelligent Gateway, or No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway).
	Peer VPC	Select the VPC. Note This parameter is displayed only if you set Database Location to Self-managed database connected over Express Connect, a VPN gateway, or Smart Access Gateway (SAG).
	ECS instance ID	Select the ID of the ECS instance that you want to back up. Note This parameter is displayed only if you set Database Location to Self-managed database on an ECS instance.
	Database gateway ID	Select the database gateway instance. Note This parameter is displayed only if you set Database Location to Self-managed database without a public IP address, accessed by using a database gateway.
	Connection address	The connection address of the source database instance. Note If network security settings such as a firewall are configured on your server, click Set Whitelist to obtain the CIDR blocks of DBS. You must add the CIDR blocks to the whitelist of your server to ensure that DBS can access your server. This parameter is displayed only if you select No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway), Express Connect DB/VPN Gateway/Intelligent Gateway, or User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number>.
	Port	The port that is used to connect to the source database. Note This parameter is not displayed if you set Database Location to PolarDB.
	Database account	Enter a database account with the required permissions to back up the database. For more information, see Account permissions. Note For an RDS database, an account with read-only permissions meets backup requirements, and an account with read and write permissions meets backup and restoration requirements.
	Password	Enter the password that corresponds to the database account. After you specify the account and password, you can click Test Connection to check whether the specified database information is valid. If the source database information is valid, a success message is returned. If the connectivity test fails, click Diagnose and adjust the source database information as prompted.
	Connection method	Select a connection method. Valid values: Non-encrypted SSL-encrypted: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encrypts network connections at the transport layer to improve the security and integrity of data in transit. However, this method increases the response time of network connections. Note Before you select SSL-encrypted, ensure that SSL encryption is enabled on your source database server. For more information, see Step 1: Enable SSL encryption for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
	Compliance warranty regarding cross-border data transfers	Read and agree to the compliance commitment by selecting the check box.
Backup Destination Information	Backup storage type	The storage type of the backup destination. Valid values: DBS Storage (Recommended): You do not need to create a storage space. DBS automatically stores data in its built-in storage. You are charged based on the amount of stored data. For more information about billing, see Billable items of DBS. OSS For User: You must create a bucket in Object Storage Service (OSS) in advance. For more information, see Create buckets. Note This topic uses DBS Storage as an example. If you select User-owned OSS bucket, you must also configure the OSS Bucket Name parameter. Only OSS Standard storage is supported. If you store a large amount of data, we recommend that you purchase a subscription storage plan to offset the fees for built-in storage. Storage plans are more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method.
Backup Destination Information	Storage method	Select a storage method. Valid values: Encrypted (Recommended): uses the industry-standard AES-256 algorithm for encrypted storage. OSS supports server-side encryption. When you upload an object, OSS encrypts the received object before the object is stored. When you download the object, OSS automatically decrypts the encrypted object and returns the decrypted object to you. Non-encrypted: does not enable encryption.

On the Edit Backup Objects page, move the databases or tables that you want to back up to the Selected box and click Next.
Note
- You can back up specific databases and tables, including single tables, single databases, and multiple databases. You can click Select All in the lower-left corner of the page to select all existing databases. Supported backup objects vary based on the database type. For more information, see Supported database types and features.
- By default, a backup schedule does not back up databases that are created after the schedule is configured. To back up a new database, add the database to the backup objects in the backup schedule. For more information, see Modify backup objects.

On the Configure Backup Time page, configure the backup time and other parameters, and then click Next in the lower-right corner.

Parameter	Description
Full backup frequency	Select Periodic Backup or Single Backup based on your business requirements. Note If you select Periodic Backup, you must also configure the Full Backup Period and Full Backup Start Time parameters.
Full backup period	Select the days of the week to perform full backups. You can select one to seven days. At least one backup must be performed per week.
Full backup start time	Select a start time for the backup, for example, 01:00. We recommend that you schedule backups during off-peak hours. Note If a full backup task is still running at the specified start time, the current backup task is automatically skipped.
Incremental backup	Specifies whether to enable incremental backup. Note If you enable this feature, make sure that binary logging is enabled for the source database. Binary logging is enabled by default for ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances. You must manually enable binary logging for self-managed databases. This parameter is displayed only if you set the Full Backup Frequency parameter to Periodic Backup.
Maximum number of parallel threads for full backup	Specify the maximum number of parallel threads for a full backup. You can set this parameter to adjust the backup speed. For example, you can decrease the number of backup threads to reduce the impact on the database.
Backup network throttling	The network bandwidth limit. Unit: MB/s. The default value is 0, which indicates that the network bandwidth is not limited. You can specify any value.

On the Edit Lifecycle page, specify the retention period of full backup data in the built-in storage.

If you enabled the Incremental Backup feature in the previous step, you must also configure the retention period of incremental backup data. For more information about the lifecycle of backup data, see Manage the lifecycle of backup data.
After the preceding configurations are complete, click Precheck in the lower-right corner of the page.
In the Precheck dialog box, after Start Task is displayed, click Start Task.
Note
- The backup schedule is configured after its Status changes to Running.
- If a backup schedule encounters an exception or error, we recommend that you troubleshoot and resolve the issue promptly. For more information, see How do I fix an abnormal backup schedule?. If the issue persists after you try the solutions provided in the topic, join the customer support group (DingTalk group ID: 35585947) for assistance.

Restore data

After you back up a database, if data is lost or damaged or is maliciously tampered with due to hardware failures, software errors, human errors, or natural disasters, you can use the data restoration feature to rapidly restore the data to the most recent available state.

Precautions

When you restore data to an existing instance, make sure that the database account that you specify for the restore task has the required permissions on the destination database. Otherwise, the restore task may fail. For more information, see Account permissions.

Procedure

On the Backup Schedules page, find the backup schedule that you want to manage and click Manage in the Actions column.
On the Configure Task page, click Restore Database in the upper-right corner.

On the Set Time Restored To page, configure the following parameters and click Next.

Section	Parameter	Description
N/A	Task Name	DBS automatically generates a task name. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name for easy identification. The name does not need to be unique.
Set Time Restored To	Restorable time range	The time range available for restoration. This range starts from the completion of the first full backup and ends at the completion of the latest full backup.
Set Time Restored To	Selected restore time point	Select a point in time to which you want to restore data. The point in time must be within the Restorable Time Range. Note If incremental backup is enabled, you can restore data to any point in time after the backup starts. If incremental backup is not enabled, you can restore data only to the point in time of a full backup set.
Destination database	Destination database instance type	Select Create Instance (Recommended) or Use Exists. Note If you select Use Exists, make sure that the destination database is running.
	Database location	If you select Create Instance (Recommended) as the destination database type, ApsaraDB RDS instance is selected for this parameter by default. If you select Use Exists as the destination database type, you can select one of the following locations: No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway) User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number> ECS-Hosted Database RDS Instance Express Connect DB/VPN Gateway/Intelligent Gateway PolarDB
	Instance region	Select the region of the destination instance. Note This parameter is not displayed if you set Database Location to User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number>.
	VPC	The VPC in which the new instance resides. Note If you have not created a VPC, see Create and manage a VPC.
	Instance specification	The instance specification of the new instance. The available specifications are displayed in the console. Note We recommend that you select an instance specification that is greater than or equal to that of the source instance.
	Storage (GB)	The storage space of the new instance. The available storage space options are displayed in the console. Note To ensure sufficient space for restoration, we recommend that you specify a storage space that is at least 1.3 times that of the source instance. Alternatively, the space should be 5 to 6 times the size of the full backup set because backup sets are compressed.
	Database type	The database type is MySQL. Note You must configure this parameter only if you set Database Location to No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway).
	Database gateway ID	The gateway on the server where the self-managed database resides. For more information about how to install a backup gateway, see Install a database gateway. Note You must configure this parameter only if you set Database Location to No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway).
	Connection address	The public endpoint of the destination database. Note You must configure this parameter only if you set Database Location to No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway), User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number>, ECS-Hosted Database, or Express Connect DB/VPN Gateway/Intelligent Gateway.
	Port	The port that is used to connect to the destination database. Note You must configure this parameter only if you set Database Location to No public network IP: Port's self-built database (accessed through the database gateway) or User-Created Database with Public IP Address <IP Address:Port Number>.
	Database account	Enter the account for the destination database instance. The account must have write permissions.
	Password	The password of the account that is used to connect to the database that you want to back up.
	Data cross-border compliance commitment	Read and select the checkbox to agree to the compliance commitment.

On the Configure Objects to Restore page, configure the following parameters and click Precheck in the lower-right corner of the page.

Parameter	Description
Conflict resolution	The default Conflict Handling method is Rename if an object with the same name is encountered. For example, if a table with the same name is encountered when restoring the `job_info` table, the system renames the new table to `job_info_dbs_<restore task ID>_<timestamp>`.
Objects to restore	In the Source Database Objects box, select the databases or tables that you want to restore and move them to the Selected Database Objects box. Note Some databases support restoration at the single-table or single-database granularity. This reduces the amount of data to be restored and shortens the Recovery Time Objective (RTO). For more information about the supported restoration granularity, see Supported database types and features.

In the Precheck dialog box, after Precheck Passed is displayed, click Start Task.

You can go to the Restore Tasks tab in the left-side navigation pane to view the progress of database restoration.

Note
A higher specification provides a faster restoration speed. For more information, see Performance tests for logical and physical backups.

If you restore data to a new instance, creating a new ApsaraDB RDS instance takes about 5 to 10 minutes. After the restoration is successful, you can find the new ApsaraDB RDS instance in the ApsaraDB RDS console. You can also click the ID of the restore task and then click the name of the ApsaraDB RDS instance in the Basic Information section to navigate to the ApsaraDB RDS console.

Related operations

To change the backup source or backup objects, or modify the backup policy of a backup schedule, such as the backup time and backup set retention policy, see Manage a backup schedule.
For information about billing for a backup schedule, see Billing FAQ.
If you do not need to use backups for a period of time, you can pause the backup schedule to reduce backup costs. For more information, see Pause or restart a backup schedule.