PolarDB:Clone a cluster

Use cases

• Test environment setup: Run schema migrations, parameter changes, or query experiments on a clone without risking the production cluster.

• Workload isolation: Run analytics or data exports on a clone to avoid resource contention on the production cluster.

• Environment replication: Create a staging or development environment that mirrors production data.

Limitations

The following settings are not carried over from the source cluster and must be reconfigured manually after the clone is ready:

• Parameter settings

• Whitelist configurations

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) configurations

Additional constraints:

• Only data that exists in the source cluster before the clone operation starts is included in the clone.

• The storage type (PSL5 or PSL4) cannot be changed after a cluster is created. If you want to change the storage type of a cluster, create a new cluster with the desired storage type and then migrate data from the original cluster to the new cluster.

• The clone is deployed in the same region as the source cluster.

PolarDB Enterprise Edition clusters support cloning of account information and transparent data encryption (TDE) configurations. PolarDB Standard Edition cloning behavior differs.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have:

• An active PolarDB cluster to use as the source

• A virtual private cloud (VPC) and vSwitch in the target region. If you don't have these, create them on the VPCs page

Clone a cluster from the console

1. Log on to the PolarDB console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Clusters.

3. In the upper-left corner, select the region where the source cluster is deployed.

4. Find the source cluster, then choose More > Clone Data to New Cluster in the Actions column.

5. On the configuration page, set the parameters described in the following table.

   Parameter	Description
   Product type	The billing method for the new cluster. Select Subscription or Pay-as-you-go. See Billing for details.
   Operation type	Keep the default: Clone to New Cluster.
   Region	The region where the new cluster is deployed. Defaults to the same region as the source cluster. Keep the default.
   Primary availability zone	The zone where the new cluster is deployed. A zone is a geographically isolated location within a region. All zones in a region offer the same service performance. PolarDB and ECS instances can be in the same zone or in different zones.
   Network type	Only VPC is supported. Keep the default.
   VPC / vSwitch	Select a VPC and vSwitch from the drop-down lists. The PolarDB cluster and ECS instance must be in the same VPC to communicate over the internal network.
   Compatibility	Defaults to the same compatibility as the source cluster (for example, Compatible with Oracle 2.0). Keep the default.
   Product edition	Defaults to the same edition as the source cluster. Keep the default.
   Edition	Defaults to the same edition as the source cluster (for example, Cluster Edition (Recommended)). Keep the default.
   Specification type	Select Dedicated Specification or General Specification. Dedicated Specification allocates compute resources exclusively to the cluster for higher reliability. General Specification shares idle compute resources with other clusters for lower cost.
   CPU architecture	Defaults to the same CPU architecture as the source cluster. Keep the default.
   Node specification	The compute node specification determines the maximum storage capacity and performance of each node. For details, see Specifications of compute nodes.
   Nodes	The number of nodes in the new cluster. Default: 2 (one primary node and one read-only node). After the cluster is created, you can add up to 15 read-only nodes. See .
   PolarProxy type	Default: Dedicated Enterprise.
   Enable hot standby storage cluster	When enabled, the system deploys a hot standby storage cluster alongside the primary cluster in the same region, resulting in six replicas total (three per cluster). This delivers a higher SLA than the default three-replica configuration. When disabled, only the primary cluster is deployed with three replicas, and the storage price is half that of the enabled option.
   Storage type	Applies to Enterprise Edition clusters. Select PSL5 or PSL4. PSL5 offers higher performance, reliability, and availability. PSL4 uses Smart-SSD technology to compress and decompress data at the physical SSD disk level, reducing storage costs while maintaining high disk performance. The storage type cannot be changed after the cluster is created. For a comparison, see .
   Storage billing method	Select Pay-as-you-go or Subscription. Pay-as-you-go charges for actual storage usage hourly, with no capacity specification required. Subscription requires you to purchase a fixed storage capacity upfront. For details, see . If Product type is set to Pay-as-you-go, this is automatically set to Pay-as-you-go and cannot be changed.
   Storage cost	If Storage billing method is Pay-as-you-go, you are charged hourly for actual usage. To reduce costs, purchase a storage plan. See Purchase a storage plan.
   Storage capacity	The storage capacity to purchase, in 10 GB increments (50 GB–500 TB). Available only when Product type is Subscription and Storage billing method is Subscription.
   Cluster name	A name for the new cluster (2–256 characters, cannot start with http:// or https://). If left blank, a name is generated automatically. You can change the name after the cluster is created.
   Purchase plan	Available only when Product type is Subscription.
   Number	The number of clusters to create (1–50). Default: 1.

6. Read and accept the Terms of Service, then complete the purchase:

   • Pay-as-you-go: Click Buy Now.

   • Subscription: Click Buy Now, then on the Unpaid Orders page, confirm the order and payment method, and click Subscribe.

The cluster is ready 1–5 minutes after the order is complete. View the new cluster on the Clusters page.

After cloning

Because some settings are not carried over from the source cluster, complete the following steps before putting the cloned cluster into use:

• Parameter settings: Reconfigure any custom parameter settings on the new cluster to match the source cluster, or your desired configuration.

• Whitelist: Add the appropriate IP addresses or CIDR blocks to the cluster whitelist so that client connections are allowed.

• SSL: If the source cluster uses SSL connections, re-enable and reconfigure SSL on the new cluster.

Billing

The billing method you select affects cost structure:

What's next

• — scale the clone cluster to meet workload demands

• Purchase a storage plan — reduce storage costs with a committed plan

• — understand how storage charges are calculated