Sparse backup

Prerequisites

• If you are using the RDS backup service for the first time, you must use your Alibaba Cloud account to authorize the service-linked role for Data Disaster Recovery (AliyunServiceRoleForDBS). For more information, see Authorize the service-linked role for Data Disaster Recovery.

• Ensure that you have switched to the advanced backup policy page. For more information, see Switch to the advanced backup policy.

  Note

  After you switch to the advanced backup policy page, you can configure a backup policy to implement sparse backup.

Differences between regular and sparse backup

Usage notes

• A sparse backup policy takes effect about 10 to 15 minutes after it is configured.

• The first backup policy for an instance is fixed to Weekly, must be configured for backups on at least two days, and cannot be deleted.

• If multiple sparse backup policies are scheduled for the same day, the system generates only one backup set and retains it for the longest specified retention period.

• After you delete a sparse backup policy, existing backup sets are retained for the original retention period.

• After you configure a sparse backup policy, if a backup set is not successfully generated or dumped within the backup window on a specific day, the backup for that day is skipped, and no additional backup set is generated. This can happen if a backup fails, the instance is locked, or a dump does not complete before the level-1 backup expires.

  For example, you set a policy to perform a backup on the first day of each month and retain the backup set for 30 days. If the backup fails within the backup window on December 1, no backup set is created for December 1.

Billing

You are not charged for backup storage as long as the total size of your backup sets is within the free quota. Storage usage that exceeds the free quota is billable. For more information about the free quota and billing standards, see Backup storage cost.

Switch to the advanced backup policy

To implement sparse backup, you must first switch to the advanced backup policy page. If you have already done so, you can skip this section.

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 left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

3. On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab, and then click Switch to Advanced Backup Policy.

   

   Important

   If the Switch to Advanced Backup Policy button is not displayed on the page, submit a ticket to request access. After your request is approved, refresh the page and proceed with the following steps.

4. In the dialog box that appears, select Understood, and then click OK.

   Important

   This switch upgrades the instance backup policy page and is irreversible.

   If the Backup Strategy page appears as shown, the switch to the advanced backup policy page is complete. You can then configure a sparse backup policy on the advanced backup policy page.

Configure a sparse backup policy

Sparse backup involves manually configuring one or more backup policies to retain a minimal number of backup sets.

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 left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

3. On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab. Then, click the circled number between MySQL and level-1 backup.

   

4. In the dialog box that appears, click Add backup policy, configure the sparse backup policy, and then click OK.

   Backup cycle	Backup time	Retention period
   Weekly	You can select one or more days of the week.	You can configure a different retention period for each item. The retention period ranges from 7 to 7,300 days. Note You can also select Long-term Retention to keep backup sets for an extended time.
   Monthly	You can select one or more days of the month, or select Last day of each month.
   Yearly	You can select a specific day of the year. For example, you can select January 1.

   Note

   • High-availability series RDS for MySQL instances (5.6 and 5.7) that use high-performance local disks support High-frequency Incremental Backup. In addition to the full backups that run at your configured full backup time points, the system prioritizes running physical incremental backups at the configured High-frequency Incremental Backup Frequency. For more information, see High-frequency physical backup.

     • The retention period for high-frequency incremental backup sets ranges from 7 to 30 days. This retention period must be shorter than or equal to the retention period specified in the backup policy.

     • If a full backup set expires but the incremental backup sets generated from it have not, the full backup set is not deleted. The system deletes the full backup set only after all of its dependent incremental backup sets have also expired.

   • The first backup policy for an instance is fixed to Weekly, must be configured for backups on at least two days, and cannot be deleted.

   • For information about other parameter settings, see automatic backup and backup encryption.

5. In the lower-left corner of the Backup Strategy tab, click Save.

Next steps