Quickstart: Protect and recover an AlloyDB cluster to a backup vault

Preview

This product or feature is subject to the "Pre-GA Offerings Terms" in the General Service Terms section of the Service Specific Terms. Pre-GA products and features are available "as is" and might have limited support. For more information, see the launch stage descriptions.

Learn how to protect and restore an AlloyDB cluster to a backup vault.

In this quickstart, you perform the following tasks:

• Configure a scheduled backup for an AlloyDB cluster.
• Back up an AlloyDB cluster into a backup vault.
• Restore an AlloyDB cluster from a backup.

Before you begin

1. Enable the Backup and DR Service API in your Google Cloud project.

   Enable the API

2. Create a backup vault. Backup vaults provide protection for backups by storing them in secure, isolated, and specialized storage. For more information about backup vaults, see Backup vault for immutable and indelible backups.

3. Create a backup plan.

4. Add the BackupDR AlloyDB Operator (roles/backupdr.alloydbOperator) role in the project that has the AlloyDB cluster to be backed up.

Grant a role to the backup vault service agent

Every backup vault created has a unique service agent linked to it. For AlloyDB clusters, the service agent performs actions on behalf of the Backup and DR Service, so it needs appropriate permissions on the projects it needs to access.

Use the following instructions to grant a role to the service agent.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Backup vaults page.

   Go to Backup vaults

2. Click the backup vault name and copy the service agent's email address.

3. In the Google Cloud console, go to the IAM page.

   Go to IAM

4. In the New principles field, enter the service agent's email address.

5. From the Select a role list, select the BackupDR AlloyDB Operator (roles/backupdr.alloydbOperator) role.

6. Click Add another role.

7. From the Select a role list, select the Service Account User (roles/iam.serviceAccountUser) role.

8. Click Save.

Back up an AlloyDB cluster into a backup vault

In the Google Cloud console, you can back up AlloyDB clusters to a backup vault by applying backup plans. You can back up in either of these ways: Scheduled backups and On-demand backups.

Configure a scheduled backup

Use the following instructions to configure a scheduled backup for AlloyDB clusters.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Vaulted backups page.

   Go to Vaulted backups

2. Click Schedule backup.

3. From the Resource Type list, select AlloyDB.

4. From the Project list, select the project where the AlloyDB cluster is located.

5. From the Region list, select the region where your clusters are located.

6. From the Resources list, click Browse. Choose the AlloyDB cluster that you want to back up and click Done.

7. Click Continue.

8. From the Backup plan list, click Select.

9. Choose a backup plan that you want to protect the AlloyDB cluster with.

10. Click Done.

11. Review the backup details and click Schedule.

    Because the backup window is set to six hours, you can take an on-demand backup of the AlloyDB cluster.

    Note: The first backup is automatically triggered when the current time is within the backup window.

Take an on-demand backup

Initiate an on-demand backup for an AlloyDB cluster with a backup plan by triggering the backup rule to run immediately.

Use the following instructions to create an on-demand backup.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Vaulted backups page.

   Go to Vaulted backups

   The Vaulted backups page lists only the data resources that have backup plans applied and their backups stored in a backup vault within that project.

2. Select the resource to back up. Either from the menu, or from the details page for the resource, select Create on-demand backup.

3. In the Create an on-demand backup window, select a backup rule to use and click Create.

4. To view the status of the on-demand backup job, click Notifications.

   Note: The on-demand backup is stored in the backup vault that is configured with the associated backup plan.

   1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Jobs page to view the backup operation status.

      Go to Jobs

Restore an AlloyDB cluster from a backup

You can restore an AlloyDB cluster to the same project or to a different project.

To restore an AlloyDB cluster into a backup vault from a backup, use the following instructions.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Vaulted backups page.

   Go to Vaulted backups

   The Vaulted backups page lists only the clusters that have backup plans applied and their backups stored in a backup vault within a project.

2. Select the backup that you want to restore. Either from the backup details page for the backup, or from the menu, select Restore.

   The Restore page displays where you select the following restore options:

   • The Resource type is prefilled with AlloyDB.
   • In Resource name, select the AlloyDB cluster to restore.
   • When you click Backup, a pane opens showing all available backups. Select the specific backup to restore.
   • For Choose the restore destination, select the project into which you want to restore the AlloyDB cluster.
   • Click Continue.
   • The next page shows the restore details so far, and prompts you to Configure a new cluster: This creates a new AlloyDB cluster based on the configuration stored in your backup. You can customize the cluster after the restore is complete. Provide a new Cluster ID using lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. Start with a letter.
   • Choose a private connection method: There are two methods to connect services in Google Cloud or third party-hosted VPC networks, without assigning external IP addresses:
     • Private services access: Assigns the cluster to a single VPC network using a peering connection. Use this when connecting to specific Google Cloud and third-party services in the same VPC network as the AlloyDB cluster. This requires additional APIs.
     • Private Service Connect: Enables cluster access from one or more VPC networks using allowlists and PSC endpoints.

3. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Jobs page to view the restore operation status.

   Go to Jobs

Clean up

To avoid incurring charges to your Google Cloud account, remember to delete the resources used on this page if you have no further use for them.

To remove the backup plan from the backed up AlloyDB cluster, use the following instructions.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Vaulted backups page.

   Go to Vaulted backups

2. Select the backed up cluster.

3. Click Remove backup plan.

   Note: The backup automatically expires and gets deleted after the retention period that you set.

Use the following instructions to delete the backup plan. Deleting the backup plan is an optional step.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Backup plans page.

   Go to Backup plans

2. Select the backup plan and click Delete.

   This deletes the backup plan and related contents.

Use the following instructions to delete the backup vault. Deleting the backup vault is an optional step.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Backup vaults page.

   Go to Backup vaults

2. Click the backup vault and click Delete.

   This deletes the backup vault and related contents.

   Note: The backup vault incurs a cost only when the backup vault stores data. The existence of a backup plan doesn't incur any cost.