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ApsaraDB RDS:Overview of data restoration methods

Last Updated:Jan 15, 2025

This topic describes the data restoration methods that are supported by ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server.

Scenario 1: Restore data in the cloud

Method	Related operation
Restore data to an existing RDS instance	Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance. Note To restore a single database to an existing RDS instance, we recommend that you manually back up the database by following the instructions in Configure manual backups. Then, you can use the manual backup file as the reference point for data restoration. This method helps flexibly roll back data in scenarios such as application version upgrades or releases.
Restore data to a new RDS instance (previously known as a cloned RDS instance)
Restore data from a temporary RDS instance to the original RDS instance (This method is suitable only for RDS instances that run SQL Server 2008 R2 and use local disks.)	Log on to a temporary RDS instance. Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance by using a temporary RDS instance.
Restore data across regions	Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance across regions.
Restore data to a self-managed database from backup files	Download backup files by following the instructions in Download data backup files and log backup files. Then, restore data to the self-managed database from the backup files.

Scenario 2: Migrate local data to the cloud

For more information, see Overview of data migration methods and Migrate SQL Server databases to Alibaba Cloud.

Data source	Whether incremental data migration is supported	Supported solution	Recommended solution
Self-managed SQL Server database	Yes	Use OSS to manually migrate data to the cloud based on physical backup files Use DBS and DTS to migrate data to the cloud based on physical backup files Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration	Use DBS and DTS to migrate data to the cloud based on physical backup files with a few clicks. For more information, see Migrate data from a self-managed SQL Server database to an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance by using a physical gateway.
Azure SQL Database	Yes	Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration Note If you want to migrate incremental data, you must set the SQL Server Incremental Synchronization Mode parameter to Polling and querying CDC instances for incremental synchronization. Use the ApsaraDB RDS console to perform end-to-end cloud migration Use SSMS to perform cloud migration	For more information about how to use the ApsaraDB RDS console to perform end-to-end cloud migration or how to use DTS to perform logical cloud migration, see Migrate data from a SQL Server database on Microsoft Azure to ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server.
Azure SQL Managed Instance
SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines		Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration Note If you want to migrate incremental data, you must set the SQL Server Incremental Synchronization Mode parameter to Polling and querying CDC instances for incremental synchronization. Use the ApsaraDB RDS console to perform end-to-end cloud migration Use SSMS to perform cloud migration Use OSS to manually migrate data to the cloud based on physical backup files
Amazon RDS for SQL Server	Yes	Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration Note If you want to migrate incremental data, you must set the SQL Server Incremental Synchronization Mode parameter to Polling and querying CDC instances for incremental synchronization. Use the ApsaraDB RDS console to perform end-to-end cloud migration Use SSMS to perform cloud migration Use OSS to manually migrate data to the cloud based on physical backup files	For more information about how to use the ApsaraDB RDS console to perform end-to-end cloud migration or how to use DTS to perform logical cloud migration, see Migrate data from an Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance to an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
Huawei Cloud RDS for SQL Server	No	Use SSMS to perform cloud migration Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration for full data migration Use OSS to manually migrate full data to the cloud based on physical backup files	For more information about how to use OSS to manually migrate full data to the cloud based on physical backup files, see Migrate the full backup data of a self-managed SQL Server instance to an ApsaraDB RDS instance that runs SQL Server 2008 R2 with cloud disks or runs SQL Server 2012 or later. Note If the source database runs SQL Server 2008 R2, we recommend that you upgrade the database version before you perform the operation. For information about how to obtain backup data, see Creating a Manual Backup and Downloading a Backup File.
TencentDB for SQL Server database	Yes	Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration Use OSS to manually migrate data to the cloud based on physical backup files	For more information about how to use DTS to perform logical cloud migration, see Migrate data from a self-managed SQL Server database to an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
TencentDB for SQL Server database	No	Use SSMS to perform cloud migration
Google Cloud SQL for SQL Server	Yes	Use SSMS to perform cloud migration Use DTS to perform logical cloud migration Note If you want to migrate incremental data, you must set the SQL Server Incremental Synchronization Mode parameter to Polling and querying CDC instances for incremental synchronization.	For more information about how to use DTS to perform logical cloud migration, see Migrate data from a self-managed SQL Server database to an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.