Emergency recovery for ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL

Prerequisites

• Your RDS MySQL instance meets the following requirements:

  • Edition: High-availability Edition

  • Storage type: Premium Local SSDs

  • Region: China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Chengdu), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Hong Kong), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta), Japan (Tokyo), or Germany (Frankfurt).

  Note

  You can view this information on the Basic Information page of the instance.

• At least one physical backup exists in the ApsaraDB RDS console. See Automatic backup or Manual backup.

• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is disabled for the RDS instance.

• PrivateLink is activated. To activate PrivateLink, use the console or an API operation.

How it works

Billing

Emergency recovery incurs fees for sandbox storage and temporary sandbox instances.

Step 1: Enable sandbox feature

Enable the sandbox feature and configure a sandbox policy before creating a sandbox instance.

1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.

2. In the navigation pane on the left, click Backup and Restoration.

3. On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Crash Recovery tab, and then click Enable DBS Sandbox.

4. In the Set Sandbox Policy dialog box, configure the following parameters:

   Parameter	Description
   Sandbox Feature	Enable this feature.
   Sandbox Data Retention Period	The number of days to retain sandbox snapshots. Default: 7 days. Sandbox snapshots are available after the system creates them. Snapshots are automatically deleted after the retention period ends. Only incremental data (changes relative to the previous snapshot) is removed. You can restore data to any point in time covered by sandbox snapshots, within the log retention period of the RDS instance. A longer retention period requires more storage space and incurs higher storage fees. To keep only the latest snapshot, set the retention period to 0.

5. Click OK.

   After you enable the sandbox feature, the value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter changes to Data preparing. If you enable the sandbox feature for a backup schedule for the first time, DBS stores the latest full backup set to the sandbox storage and generates a snapshot that can be used to create sandbox instances. DBS requires a specific period of time to copy data. The period of time may be 5 to 20 minutes based on the size of the backup data.

   After a specific time range is displayed as the value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter, you can create a temporary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance and restore data to the temporary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

   

   The following table describes the values of the Sandbox instance time range parameter.

   Sandbox state	Description
   Sandbox feature disabled	The value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter is Unopened.
   Preparation after you enable the sandbox feature	The value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter changes to Data preparing.
   Preparation completed	The value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter changes to the time range in which available backup sets are created. Note The time range is from the start time of the earliest backup to the end time of the latest backup.

Step 2: Restore data to a sandbox instance

Create a sandbox instance to restore data to a specific point in time.

1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.

2. In the navigation pane on the left, click Backup and Restoration.

3. On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Crash Recovery tab, and then click Enable DBS Sandbox.

4. Click Recover Sandbox Instance. In the dialog box that appears, set the following parameters.

   Section	Parameter	Description
   Sandbox Instance Point in Time	Sandbox Data Time Range	The recoverable time range, from the first snapshot in sandbox storage to the current time. The actual recoverable range may be shorter. Important Data can be restored from the first snapshot to the end time of the last binlog file. Restoration is not guaranteed for the period between the last binlog and the current time. You can view this information on the Backup and Restoration > Base Backups > Log Backup tab.
   	Recovery Method	Recovery by Snapshot Point in Time (Recommended): Select from existing snapshot points. Faster restoration. Recovery by Custom Point in Time: If log backup for ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL is enabled, restore data to any point within the log retention period. Restoration duration depends on log size. Without log backup, you can only restore to full backup points. Note Point-in-time recovery requires RDS MySQL High-availability Edition with log backup enabled.
   Sandbox Instance Configurations	Specifications	Specifications do not significantly affect restoration speed but determine post-restoration performance. Eight specifications are available: 1 Core, 1 GB Memory 1 Core, 2 GB Memory 2 Cores, 4 GB Memory 2 Cores, 8 GB Memory 4 Cores, 8 GB Memory 4 Cores, 16 GB Memory 8 Cores, 16 GB Memory 8 Cores, 32 GB Memory
   	Region	Fixed to the region of the source instance.
   	Peer VPC	Select a VPC. Note To access the sandbox instance from an ECS instance, select the VPC where the ECS instance resides. Create and manage a VPC.
   	Peer vSwitch	Select a vSwitch to assign an IP address range for the sandbox instance.
   	Security Group	Select an advanced security group with port 3306 open. Note This parameter appears only the first time you enable emergency recovery. It does not appear for instances that already have this feature enabled.
   	Database Account Type	Select one of the following: Use Original Database Account: Uses the same account as the source database. Create Privileged Account: Creates a privileged account with permissions on all databases. Enter a new Database Account and Password. Original database accounts are retained. Note The privileged account is created only in the current sandbox instance. If an account with the same name exists in the source database, the new privileged account overwrites it in the sandbox instance.

5. Click OK.

   The system runs a precheck and automatically creates the sandbox instance. After the Sandbox Instance Status changes to "Complete", access the instance through Access a sandbox instance by using DMS or Access a sandbox instance from an ECS instance.

   The sandbox instance inherits the account, password, and configurations from the source backup. If you selected Create Privileged Account, you can also use the new privileged account to access the sandbox instance.

   Note

   The client (for example, an ECS instance) must be in the same VPC as the sandbox instance.

Related operations