Back up and restore a DBaaS instance with snapshots

Back up a DBaaS instance with a snapshot: a point-in-time copy that you can restore into a new DBaaS instance once its status reads Complete. You pay for the storage each snapshot uses, manual or scheduled, until you delete it.

Before you begin

• The DBaaS instance is Running, to take a snapshot.
• On a prepaid account, you have enough infra credits to run a new DBaaS instance for about 24 hours, to restore one.

Take a snapshot

1. On the DBaaS instance’s Snapshots tab, click Take Snapshot.
2. Enter a Snapshot Name.
3. Click Create Snapshot. The snapshot appears on the Snapshots tab and reads Complete when it is ready.

Restore a snapshot

Restoring a snapshot launches a new, separate DBaaS instance from the snapshot’s data. Your existing DBaaS instance keeps running unchanged. A snapshot stays in MyAccount; to keep a copy of the data on your own machine, export it with the engine’s dump tool, as Import a database into a DBaaS instance shows.

1. Once the snapshot reads Complete, open its row menu and click Create New Cluster.
2. Under Database Cluster, enter a name for the new DBaaS instance.
3. Choose its plan: the original’s plan or a higher one. Bill it hourly while you check the restored data, or choose a committed plan for a DBaaS instance you will keep.
4. Click Create New Cluster.

The new DBaaS instance keeps the original’s database username and password. It starts with an empty whitelist, which lets any IP address with valid credentials connect. Attach its VPC and parameter group, and add the whitelist entries it needs: Attach a VPC to a DBaaS instance, Whitelist an IP address for a DBaaS instance, and Attach a parameter group to a DBaaS instance. To have the new DBaaS instance replace the original, delete the original once the new one is ready. Deleting it also deletes all of its snapshots, including the one you restored from; see Delete a DBaaS instance.

Delete a snapshot

Deleting a snapshot is permanent, so make sure you are done with it.

1. In the snapshot’s row menu, click Delete.
2. In Delete Database Snapshot, click Delete.

The snapshot’s charge stops.

You now have snapshots to launch new DBaaS instances from. To take them on a schedule instead of by hand, see Schedule automatic snapshots.