You can back up files from a General-purpose NAS file system in the Apsara File Storage NAS console at regular intervals. You can also restore files if data is lost or damaged.

Prerequisites

  • A file system is created. For more information, see Create a file system.
  • Hybrid Backup Recovery (HBR) is activated and the AliyunServiceRoleForHbrNasBackup service-linked role is assigned to HBR.

    If you use the file backup feature for the first time, you must activate HBR and assign the AliyunServiceRoleForHbrNasBackup service-linked role to HBR.

Background information

NAS can work with HBR. HBR uses an efficient backup mechanism that scans files in General-purpose NAS file systems. This eliminates the need to create snapshots for NAS file systems. You can configure backup policies to generate multiple replicas of data. If data is lost or damaged, you can use these replicas to restore files at the earliest opportunity.
  • You can back up General-purpose NFS and SMB file systems regardless of whether the file systems are mounted.
  • HBR does not support the access control list (ACL) feature of SMB files systems. For more information about the ACL feature, see Use the ACL feature of a NAS SMB file system.
  • If you do not have the required permissions to back up an SMB file system by using HBR, the backup operation fails. In this case, we recommend that you grant HBR the required permissions on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance. For more information, see Grant the HBR client the permissions to read data from an SMB file system in NAS.
  • You can also use snapshots to back up Extreme NAS file systems. For more information, see Manage snapshots.

Billing

The first time you back up files in a NAS file system, you can create a free (30 day period) backup plan. When the trial period expires, you can renew or stop the backup plan. For more information, see Billing methods and billable items.

Back up files

  1. Log on to the NAS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Data Service > File Backup.
  3. On the File Backup page, click Get Started.
  4. In the Create Backup Plan pane, configure the following parameters to create a backup plan, and then click OK.
    1. Configure basic settings.
      ParameterDescription
      File SystemSelect the NAS file system that you want to back up.
      Pay After Trial EndsSpecify whether to pay for the backup plan after the free trial ends.
      Plan NameEnter a name for the backup plan.
      Start TimeSpecify the time at which the backup plan starts. The time is accurate to seconds.
    2. Optional:To configure a fine-grained backup plan, click Switch to Paid Plan to enable advanced settings, and then configure the parameters. The following table describes the parameters.
      ParameterDescription
      Backup VaultThe backup vault to which you want to store the backup data. Valid values:
      • Create Vault: If you select this option, specify a name for the backup vault in the Vault Name field. If you do not configure this parameter, a random name is specified for the backup vault.
      • Select Vault: If you select this option, select a backup vault from the Vault Name drop-down list.
      Note After you create a backup vault and store backup data, you are charged for the usage of the backup vault. For more information, see Billing methods and billable items.
      Vault NameEnter the name of the backup vault.

      If you set the Backup Vault parameter to Create Vault, you must enter a name for the backup vault.

      Vault Resource GroupThis parameter is required only if you set the Backup Vault parameter to Create Vault. This parameter specifies the resource group to which the backup vault belongs.

      You can use resource groups to manage resources owned by your Alibaba Cloud account. Resource groups help you simplify the resource and permission management of your Alibaba Cloud account. For more information, see Create a resource group.

      Data Redundancy TypeThis parameter is required only if you set the Backup Vault parameter to Create Vault. This parameter specifies the type of data redundancy for the backup vault. The data redundancy mechanism helps improve the data reliability of the backup vault.
      • Locally redundant storage (LRS)

        If LRS is enabled, HBR stores the copies of each object on multiple devices of different facilities in the same zone. This way, HBR ensures data durability and availability even if hardware failures occur.

      • Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)

        If ZRS is enabled, HBR uses the multi-zone mechanism to distribute data across three zones within the same region. If a zone fails, the data that is stored in the other two zones is still accessible.

      For more information, see Storage vault types.

      Source File EncryptionThis parameter is required only if you set the Backup Vault parameter to Create Vault. This parameter specifies the method that is used to encrypt the data in the backup vault.
      • HBR-managed (default value): You can use the default encryption method of HBR.
      • KMS: You can use Key Management Service (KMS) to encrypt the data that is stored in the backup vault. If you select this option, you must specify the KMS KeyId parameter.
      Source PathsEnter the path of the file that you want to back up.

      Example: /nas/folder. / indicates the root directory of the NAS file system.

      Backup IntervalSelect the interval at which incremental backup is performed.

      Units: days or weeks.

      Retention PolicySelect the retention policy of the backup data. Valid values: Limited and Permanent.
      Retention PeriodSelect the retention period of the backup data.

      If you set the Retention Policy parameter to Limited, you must specify the Retention Period parameter. Unit: days, weeks, months, or years.

      Keep At Least One Backup VersionWe recommend that you turn on the switch. If you turn on the switch, the latest backup version generated by the backup plan is not deleted due to the expiration of the retention period or accidental operations. This prevents the risk that no backup version is available for restoration due to reasons such as improper backup plan settings. For more information, see Keep at least one backup version.
  5. On the Backup Plans tab, find the created backup plan and click Get Started.
    Note
    • On the Backup Jobs tab, you can view the statuses of the backup jobs, the data size of the backup files, and other details.
    • If the statuses of the backup jobs are not updated for a long time, you can click the Refresh button in the upper-right corner of the page.

Restore files

  1. Log on to the NAS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Data Service > File Backup.
  3. On the File Backup page, click the Restore Jobs tab, and then click Create Restore Job.
  4. In the Create Restore Job panel, perform the following steps:
    1. Configure the backup source and then click Next.
      ParameterDescription
      Source VaultSelect the backup vault where the files that you want to restore reside.
      Source File SystemSelect the file system where the files that you want to restore reside.
      Select a backup to restoreSelect the backup that you want to restore.
    2. In the Select Restore Items step, configure the Restore Items parameter and click Next.
      ParameterDescription
      Source InstanceSelect the files or directories that you want to restore. Valid values:
      • Include All Files: HBR restores all backup files from the source NAS file system.
      • Include Files: Select the files or folders that you want to restore. You can also click Enter Paths to specify the files that you want to restore.
      • Exclude Files: Select the files or folders that you do not want to restore. You can also click Enter Paths to specify the files that you do not want to restore.

      Enter one path in each line and make sure that each path starts with the lowest-level directory in the source path. For example, to restore the file.txt file and the abc folder in the /test/data directory, enter the following paths: 

      /data/file.txt
/data/abc
    3. In the Restore Destination step, select a file system in the specified region and click Next.
    4. In the Destination Path step, specify the recovery path and click Create.
      ParameterDescription
      Restore Path TypeThe type of the recovery path.
      • Specify Path: Specify a new path and restore the file system to the path.
      • Origin Path: Restore the file system to the original path.
      Destination PathThis parameter is required only if you set the Restore Path Type parameter to Specify Path. This parameter specifies the path to which the file system is restored. For example, you can restore the file system to /nas/abc.

      After the restore job is created, you can view the progress of the restore job in the Status column on the Restore Jobs tab.

Related operations

CategoryDescription
Operations related to backup plans
  • Modify a backup plan: You can reset the backup interval, retention policy, and source path of the backup plan based on your business requirements.
  • Delete a backup plan: If you no longer need a backup plan, you can delete it. After you delete the backup plan, HBR no longer runs backup jobs for the backup plan but the backup data is retained.
  • Suspend a backup plan: You can suspend a scheduled backup plan. To resume a suspended backup plan, find the backup plan and choose More > Resume Plan in the Actions column.
  • View backup history: You can view all the backup records of the file system or the backup records in the recent three months.
Operations related backup jobs
  • Query a backup job: You can query the details of all backup jobs in the past three months. The details include job status, data size, and progress.
  • Cancel a backup job: You can cancel a pending or running backup job. If you cancel the backup job, all the file backups of this job are removed from the backup vault. If you still need to back up these files, create another backup job.
Operations related to restoration jobs
  • Query a restoration job: You can query the status, data size, and progress of restoration jobs.
  • Cancel a restoration job: You can cancel a running restoration job. After you cancel a restoration job, the restored files of the job are saved in a specified directory. The remaining files of the job are no longer restored.
Delete the mount target that is created by HBRWhen you create a backup plan for a NAS file system, HBR automatically creates a mount target for the NAS file system. You cannot directly delete the mount target in the NAS console because it is created by using an internal service of Alibaba Cloud. If you want to delete a mount target, find the file system in the Manage Mounts panel and click Unmount in the Actions column. After the mount target is deleted, the backup jobs that are running fail. Before you delete the mount target, make sure that all backup plans are deleted and no backup jobs or restore jobs of the file system are running.

FAQ