Configure point-in-time recovery (PITR)

When you create a new instance in the Google Cloud console, both automated backups and point-in-time recovery (PITR) are automatically enabled. You can configure PITR for any existing instance by doing the following:

Enable PITR

When you create a new instance in the Google Cloud console, the Automated backups setting is automatically enabled.

The following procedure enables PITR on an existing primary instance.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud SQL Instances page.

    Go to Cloud SQL Instances

  2. Open the more actions menu More actions icon. for the instance you want to enable PITR on and click Edit.
  3. Under Customize your instance, expand the Data Protection section.
  4. Select the Enable point-in-time recovery checkbox.
  5. In the Days of logs field, enter the number of days to retain logs, from 1-35 for Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition, or 1-7 for Cloud SQL Enterprise edition.
  6. Click Save.

gcloud

  1. Display the instance overview: 
    gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME
  2. If you see enabled: false in the backupConfiguration section, enable scheduled backups: 
    gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME \
--backup-start-time=HH:MM

    Specify the backup-start-time parameter using 24-hour time in UTC±00 time zone.

  3. Enable PITR: 
    gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME \
--enable-point-in-time-recovery

    If you're enabling PITR on a primary instance, you can also configure the number of days for which you want to retain transaction logs by adding the following parameter:

    --retained-transaction-log-days=RETAINED_TRANSACTION_LOG_DAYS
  4. Confirm your change: 
    gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME

    In the backupConfiguration section, you see pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled: true if the change was successful.

Terraform

To enable PITR, use a Terraform resource.

Enable PITR for Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition

Use the following Terraform code sample to create a Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition instance with PITR enabled: 
# Creates a SQL SERVER Enterprise Plus edition instance. Unless specified otherwise, PITR is enabled by default.
resource "google_sql_database_instance" "enterprise_plus" {
  name             = "sqlserver-enterprise-plus-instance-pitr"
  region           = "asia-northeast1"
  database_version = "SQLSERVER_2019_ENTERPRISE"
  root_password    = "INSERT-PASSWORD-HERE"
  settings {
    tier    = "db-perf-optimized-N-2"
    edition = "ENTERPRISE_PLUS"
    backup_configuration {
      enabled = true
    }
  }
  # Setting the `deletion_protection` flag to true ensures you can't accidentally delete the instance
  # using Terraform. Setting the `deletion_protection_enabled` flag to true protects the instance at the
  # Google Cloud level.
  deletion_protection = false
}

Enable PITR for Cloud SQL Enterprise edition

Use the following Terraform code sample to create a Cloud SQL Enterprise edition instance with PITR enabled: 
# Creates a SQL SERVER Enterprise edition instance with PITR enabled. Unless specified otherwise,
# PITR is disabled by default.
resource "google_sql_database_instance" "enterprise" {
  name             = "sqlserver-enterprise-instance-pitr"
  region           = "asia-northeast1"
  database_version = "SQLSERVER_2019_ENTERPRISE"
  root_password    = "INSERT-PASSWORD-HERE"
  settings {
    tier    = "db-custom-4-26624"
    edition = "ENTERPRISE"
    backup_configuration {
      enabled                        = true
      point_in_time_recovery_enabled = true
    }
  }
  # Setting the `deletion_protection` flag to true ensures you can't accidentally delete the instance
  # using Terraform. Setting the `deletion_protection_enabled` flag to true protects the instance at the
  # Google Cloud level.
  deletion_protection = false
}

Apply the changes

To apply your Terraform configuration in a Google Cloud project, complete the steps in the following sections.

Prepare Cloud Shell

  1. Launch Cloud Shell.

  2. Set the default Google Cloud project where you want to apply your Terraform configurations.

    You only need to run this command once per project, and you can run it in any directory.

    export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID

    Environment variables are overridden if you set explicit values in the Terraform configuration file.

Prepare the directory

Each Terraform configuration file must have its own directory (also called a root module).

  1. In Cloud Shell, create a directory and a new file within that directory. The filename must have the .tf extension—for example main.tf. In this tutorial, the file is referred to as main.tf. 
    mkdir DIRECTORY && cd DIRECTORY && touch main.tf

  2. If you are following a tutorial, you can copy the sample code in each section or step.

    Copy the sample code into the newly created main.tf.

    Optionally, copy the code from GitHub. This is recommended when the Terraform snippet is part of an end-to-end solution.

  3. Review and modify the sample parameters to apply to your environment.
  4. Save your changes.
  5. Initialize Terraform. You only need to do this once per directory. 
    terraform init

    Optionally, to use the latest Google provider version, include the -upgrade option: 

    terraform init -upgrade

Apply the changes

  1. Review the configuration and verify that the resources that Terraform is going to create or update match your expectations: 
    terraform plan

    Make corrections to the configuration as necessary.

  2. Apply the Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering yes at the prompt: 
    terraform apply

    Wait until Terraform displays the "Apply complete!" message.

  3. Open your Google Cloud project to view the results. In the Google Cloud console, navigate to your resources in the UI to make sure that Terraform has created or updated them.

Delete the changes

To delete your changes, do the following:

  1. To disable deletion protection, in your Terraform configuration file set the deletion_protection argument to false. 
    deletion_protection =  "false"
  2. Apply the updated Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering yes at the prompt: 
    terraform apply

  1. Remove resources previously applied with your Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering yes at the prompt:

    terraform destroy

REST v1

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_ID: the ID or project number of the Google Cloud project that contains the instance
  • INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the primary or read replica instance that you're configuring for high availability
  • START_TIME: the time (in hours and minutes)

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/instances/INSTANCE_NAME

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "startTime": "START_TIME",
      "enabled": true,
      "pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled": true
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

REST v1beta4

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_ID: the ID or project number of the Google Cloud project that contains the instance
  • INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the primary or read replica instance that you're configuring for high availability
  • START_TIME: the time (in hours and minutes)

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/PROJECT_ID/instances/INSTANCE_NAME

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "startTime": "START_TIME",
      "enabled": true,
      "pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled": true
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Disable PITR

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud SQL Instances page.

    Go to Cloud SQL Instances

  2. Open the more actions menu More actions icon. for the instance you want to deactivate and select Edit.
  3. Under Customize your instance, expand the Data Protection section.
  4. Clear Enable point-in-time recovery.
  5. Click Save.

gcloud

  1. Deactivate point-in-time recovery: 
    gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME \
--no-enable-point-in-time-recovery
  2. Confirm your change: 
    gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME

    In the backupConfiguration section, you see pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled: false if the change was successful.

REST v1

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "enabled": false,
      "pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled": false
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

REST v1beta4

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • project-id: The project ID
  • instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "enabled": false,
      "pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled": false
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Set transaction log retention

To set the number of days to retain transaction logs:

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud SQL Instances page.

    Go to Cloud SQL Instances

  2. Open the more actions menu More actions icon. for the instance you want to set the transaction log on and select Edit.
  3. Under Customize your instance, expand the Data Protection section.
  4. In the Enable point-in-time recovery section, expand Advanced options.
  5. Enter the number of days to retain logs, from 1-35 for Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition or 1-7 for Cloud SQL Enterprise edition.
  6. Click Save.

gcloud

Edit the instance to set the number of days to retain transaction logs.

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_NAME: The name of the instance you want to set the transaction log on.

  • DAYS_TO_RETAIN: The number of days of transaction logs to keep. For Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition, the valid range is between 1 and 35 days, with a default of 14 days. For Cloud SQL Enterprise edition, the valid range is between 1 and 7 days, with a default of 7 days.

    If you don't specify a value, then Cloud SQL uses the default value. This is valid only when PITR is enabled. Keeping more days of transaction logs requires a bigger storage size.

  gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME 

    --retained-transaction-log-days=DAYS_TO_RETAIN

REST v1

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_ID: the project ID.
  • INSTANCE_ID: the instance ID.

  • DAYS_TO_RETAIN: the number of days to retain transaction logs. For Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition, the valid range is between 1 and 35 days, with a default of 14 days. For Cloud SQL Enterprise edition, the valid range is between 1 and 7 days, with a default of 7 days.

    If no value is specified, then the default value is used. This is valid only when PITR is enabled. Keeping more days of transaction logs requires a bigger storage size.

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/instances/INSTANCE_ID

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "transactionLogRetentionDays": "DAYS_TO_RETAIN"
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

REST v1beta4

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_ID: the project ID.
  • INSTANCE_ID: the instance ID.

  • DAYS_TO_RETAIN: the number of days to retain transaction logs. For Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition, the valid range is between 1 and 35 days, with a default of 14 days. For Cloud SQL Enterprise edition, the valid range is between 1 and 7 days, with a default of 7 days.

    If no value is specified, then the default value is used. This is valid only when PITR is enabled. Keeping more days of transaction logs requires a bigger storage size.

HTTP method and URL: 

PATCH https://sqladmin.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/PROJECT_ID/instances/INSTANCE_ID

Request JSON body: 

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "transactionLogRetentionDays": "DAYS_TO_RETAIN"
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Check the storage location of transaction logs used for PITR

You can check where your Cloud SQL instance is storing the transaction logs used for PITR.

gcloud

To determine whether your instance stores logs for PITR on disk or Cloud Storage, use the following command:

   gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME

Replace INSTANCE_NAME with the name of the instance.

For multiple instances in the same project, you can also check the storage location of the transaction logs. To determine the location for multiple instances, use the following command:

   gcloud sql instances list --show-transactional-log-storage-state

Example response:

NAME  DATABASE_VERSION         LOCATION       TRANSACTIONAL_LOG_STORAGE_STATE
my_01 SQLSERVER_2019_STANDARD  us-central-1   DISK
my_02 SQLSERVER_2019_STANDARD  us-central-1   CLOUD_STORAGE
...

In the output of the command, the transactionalLogStorageState field or the TRANSACTIONAL_LOG_STORAGE_STATE column provides information about where the transaction logs for PITR are stored for the instance. The possible transaction log storage states are the following:

  • DISK: the instance stores the transaction logs used for PITR on disk.
  • CLOUD_STORAGE: the instance stores the transaction logs used for PITR in Cloud Storage.

What's next