Typical Backup Scenarios

Backup Service can be applied to the following three typical scenarios: local backup, remote backup, and Public Cloud backup.

Note: If you have the Tenant Management Plus license at the same time, the project members (project managers, project admins, and general project members) can perform local backup for VM instances and volumes in the project.

• Local Backup

  A local ImageStore image storage can act as the Local Backup Server to store scheduled backup data of the local VM instances, volumes, and management node databases. Meanwhile, the seamless switchover between the primary local backup server and the secondary local backup server is supported, which effectively ensures your business continuity.

  If your local data is mistakenly deleted, or data in the local primary storage is damaged, you can recover the backup data from the local backup server, as shown in Local Backup Scenario-1

  
  
  

  If you encounter a disaster in your local data center, you can rely totally on your local backup server to rebuild your data center and recover your business, as shown in Local Backup Scenario-2.

  
  
  

• Remote Backup

  A storage server in a remote data center can act as the Remote Backup Server to store the scheduled backup data of the local VM instances, volumes, and databases. The backup data needs to be synchronized to the remote backup server from the local backup server.

  If your local data is mistakenly deleted, or data in the local primary storage is damaged, you can recover the backup data from the remote backup server, as shown in Remote Backup Scenario-1

  
  
  

  If you encounter a disaster in your data center, you can rely totally on your remote backup server to rebuild your data center and recover your business, as shown in Remote Backup Scenario-2.

  
  
  

• Public Cloud Backup

  The storage server in the Public Cloud can act as the Public Cloud Backup Server to store the scheduled backup data of the local VM instances, volumes, and databases. The backup data can be synchronized to the Public Cloud backup server from the local backup server.

  If your local data is mistakenly deleted, or data in the local primary storage is damaged, you can recover the backup data from the Public Cloud backup server, as shown in Public Cloud Backup Scenario-1.

  
  
  

  If you encounter a disaster in your data center, you can rely totally on your Public Cloud backup server to rebuild your data center and recover your business, as shown in Public Cloud Backup Scenario-2.

  
  
  

Local Backup

For detailed information of the local backup practice, see Local Backup Practice.

Remote Backup

For detailed information of the remote backup practice, see Remote Backup Practice.

Public Cloud Backup

For detailed information of Public Cloud backup practice, see Public Cloud Backup Practice.

Job Overview

Job overview displays backup job number and state on a card.

• Total jobs: The total number of backup jobs on the Cloud, as well as the number of VM instance, volume, and database backup jobs.
• State: The state of backup jobs. Green indicates enabled, while red indicates disabled.

Resource Overview

Resource overview displays the backup and protection information about available VM instances/volumes on the Cloud.

• VM Instance:
  • Backup Job: The number of VM instances that have backup jobs on the Cloud.
  • CDP Task: The number of VM instances that have CDP tasks on the Cloud.
  • No Task: The number of VM instances that have no backup jobs or CDP tasks on the Cloud.

• Volume:

  • Backup Job: The number of volumes that have backup jobs on the Cloud.
  • Other: The number of volumes attached by VM instances with CDP tasks or backup jobs on the Cloud.
  • No Task: The number of volumes that have no backup jobs or CDP tasks on the Cloud.

Backup Job Statistics

Backup job statistics displays the execution of backup jobs in a line chart with time period as the horizontal axis and job number as the vertical axis.

You can set a time filter to the view the execution of backup jobs within the selected time period (by year/month/day).

• Blue: The number of executed backup jobs within the selected time period.
• Green: The number of succeeded backup jobs within the selected time period.
• Yellow: The number of partially succeeded backup jobs within the selected time period. You can view the specific backup job result in the job details.
• Red: The number of failed backup jobs within the selected time period.
• Grey: The number of backup jobs that are scheduled to implement within the selected time period.

Note:

• The time filter applies to both the line chart (backup job statistics) and list (backup record).
• Allows you to view the execution of a backup job on the current date in hover.

Backup Record

Backup record displays the execution record of all backup jobs within the current time period, including execution time, name, backup resource, resources, backup mode, backup capacity, task result and time consumed. You can view the job details of a backup job.

Additional Information

Create Backup Job for Local VM Instance and Data Volume

Create Backup Job for Management Node Database

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Platform O&M > Backup Management > Backup Service > Backup Job. Then the Backup Job page appears. On the page, choose Database > Create Backup Job. Then the Create Backup Job page appears.

Notes

• By default, the value of incrementalBackup.maxNum is 64. This value indicates that the Cloud will implement a full backup after the incremental backup is executed 63 times. You can also use zstack-cli to modify the value:

  [root@localhost ~]# zstack-cli
  admin>>> LogInByAccount accountName=admin password=password  //Log into the system.The default username and password combination is admin/password.
  admin >>>UpdateGlobalConfig category=volumeBackup name=incrementalBackup.maxNum value=10  //Update the maximum times of incremental backup.
  {
      "inventory": {
          "category": "volumeBackup",
          "defaultValue": "64",
          "description": "the maximum numbers of continuous incremental backup",
          "name": "incrementalBackup.maxNum",
          "value": "10"
      },
      "success": true
  }

• After you set a data retention policy, only records are deleted for data outside the retention policy, which does not affect data security.
• If a full backup and incremental backup are triggered at the same time, the two backups are executed in queue.
• You can check the incremental backup data and full backup data on the Local Backup Data page. If you have selected Sync to Remote Backup Server, you can check the backup data on the remote backup server.

View the Local Backup Data

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Platform O&M > Backup Management > Backup Service > Local Backup Data. On the Local Backup Data page, you can manage the local backup data.

• This page includes three tab pages: VM Instance, Volume, and Database. Each tab page displays the backup data generated based on the backup jobs.
• The backup data is displayed as a folder by resource or database.
• Under each resource or database folder, the backup data of the resource or database is arranged in order based on the latest creation date.

Restore the Local Backup Data

You can restore the local backup data of the local VM instances, volumes, or databases to your local server.

• Restore a local VM instance

  On the Local Backup Data page, select the backup data of a VM instance and choose Restore from the Actions column. Then, the Recover Backup Data page is displayed.

  On the displayed page, set the following parameters:

  • Recovery Policy: Select a recovery policy.
    The following two policies are available:

    • New Resource:
      If you choose this policy, set the following parameters:

      • Name: Set a name for the VM instance.
      • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the VM instance.
      • Instance Offering: Select an instance offering for the VM instance.
      • Network Configuration: Select a network for the VM instance.
      • Recover Volume Data: Choose whether to recover the volume data.
        Note: If the selected backup data is the whole backup data of the VM instance, you can restore the VM instance with its volumes to the local server. This helps ensure the data consistency.
      • Advanced Settings:
        • Primary Storage: Optional. Specify a primary storage for the root volumes of the VM instance.
          Note:

          When you restore the backup data of a VM instance that uses a SharedBlock primary storage, you need to choose a provisioning method, including thin provisioning and thick provisioning.

          • Thin provisioning: Allocates storage spaces to VM instances according to the actual usage to achieve higher storage utilization.
          • Thick provisioning: Pre-allocates the required storage space, providing sufficient storage capacity to VM instances and ensures the storage performance.
        • Host: Optional. Specify a host on which the VM instance is started.

      
      
      

    • Overwrite Original Resource:
      If you choose this policy, set the following parameters:

      • Name: The name of the original resource is displayed.
      • Description: The description (if any) of the original resource is displayed.
      • Recover Volume Data: Choose whether to recover the volume data.

      
      
      

      Note:

      • Before you can overwrite the original resource, stop the VM instance first.
      • If the selected backup data is the whole backup data of the VM instance, you can restore the VM instance with its volumes to the local server. This helps ensure the data consistency.
• Restore a volume

  On the Local Backup Data page, select the backup data of a volume and choose Restore from the Actions column. Then, the Recover Backup Data page is displayed.

  On the displayed page, set the following parameters:

  • Recovery Policy: Select a recovery policy.
    The following two policies are available:

    • New Resource:
      If you choose this policy, set the following parameters:

      • Name: Set a name for the volume.
      • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the volume.
      • VM Instance: Select a VM instance to which the volume is to be attached.
        Note:

        When you restore the backup data of a volume that uses a SharedBlock primary storage, you need to choose a provisioning method, including thin provisioning and thick provisioning.

        • Thin provisioning: Allocates storage spaces to volumes according to the actual usage to achieve higher storage utilization.
        • Thick provisioning: Pre-allocates the required storage space, providing sufficient storage capacity to volumes and ensures the storage performance.
      • Primary Storage: The primary storage used by the VM instance is displayed.
      • VirtIO SCSI: Choose whether to create VirtIO SCSI data volumes. By default, this checkbox is not selected.
        Note: If you are using a LocalStorage primary storage, we recommend that you do not use VirtIO SCSI data volumes.

      
      
      

    • Overwrite Original Resource:
      If you choose this policy, you do not need to make any settings.

      • Name: The name of the original resource is displayed.
      • Description: The description (if any) of the original resource is displayed.

      
      
      

• Restore a database
  • Assume that the original ZStack Cloud Private Cloud exists and you want to restore the database from the local backup data to overwrite the original one.
    1. Make sure that the global setting Database Recovery from Backup Data is enabled.

       On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Settings > Global Setting > Advanced > Platform O&M > Backup Management and set Database Recovery from Backup Data to true. This allows you to restore a database from the backup data.

    2. On the Database tab page, select the specified backup data and choose Restore from the Actions column.
    3. In the displayed Recover Database dialog box, enter the root password. The initial password is zstack.mysql.password.

       
       
       

       Note:

       • Restoring the database restarts the management node, during which time the management interface cannot be used.
       • This process usually takes a few minutes without affecting your business resources.
       • If you deleted a resource (such as a VM instance or volume) after the backup point, the deleted resource will become invalid and its data cannot be restored. You can clean up the invalid data manually.
    4. The system restores the database.

       
       
       

    5. The database is restored successfully. You can click Relogin to log in to the Cloud again.

       
       
       

       Note: After the database is restored, all resources of the Cloud are back to the original state before the backup. You can click Scan Backup Data in the local backup server page to obtain the actual backup data information.
  • Assume that the original ZStack Cloud Private Cloud does not exist and you want to restore the database from the local backup data to build a new Cloud.
    1. Log in to the system. Then, the Welcome to use our Cloud page is displayed. Choose Restore Backup Data > Restore.

       
       
       

    2. Prepare the server.
       On the Prepare Server page, set the following parameters:

       • Backup Server IP: Enter the IP address of the local backup server.
       • URL: Enter the URL of the storage mounted to the local backup server. For example, /mnt/xxx_ds.
         Note: The backup data of the database is stored in the storage of the URL.
       • SSH Port: Enter the SSH port. Default: 22.
       • User Name: Enter the user name. Default: root.
       • Password: Enter the password.

       
       
       

    3. Prepare backup data.
       On the Prepare Backup Data page, set the following parameters:

       • Database Backup Data: Select the backup data of the database to restore.

       
       
       

       Note:

       • The system will detect the number of the licensed hosts (CPU cores). You need to select the appropriate database backup data to restore. You can also update the license to increase the licensed quota to avoid the management node start failure due to insufficient licensed quota.
    4. In the displayed Recover Database dialog box, enter the root password. The initial password is zstack.mysql.password.

       
       
       

       Note:

       • Restoring the database restarts the management node, during which time the management interface cannot be used.
       • This process usually takes a few minutes without affecting your business resources.
       • If you deleted a resource (such as a VM instance or volume) after the backup point, the deleted resource will become invalid and its data cannot be restored. You can clean up the invalid data manually.
    5. The system restores the database.

       
       
       

    6. The database is restored successfully. You can click Relogin to log in to the Cloud again.

       
       
       

       Note: After the database is restored, all resources of the Cloud are back to the original state before the backup. You can click Scan Backup Data in the local backup server page to obtain the actual backup data information.
    Note:

    • If the management node fails to start due to insufficient licensed quota, a pop up window will be displayed, prompting you to increase the licensed quota and then restore the database.
    • Here are some notices on the business recovery in a newly-built data center:
      • If the network topology and storage architecture of the new data center are the same as those of the original one, the business will be recovered after all hardware resources (such as hosts and primary storages) are successfully reconnected.
      • If the network topology and storage architecture of the new data center are different from those of the original one, you can recover your business by adding a new host and rebuilding a network topology.

Synchronize Local Backup Data to a Remote Server

You can synchronize the backup data of local VM instances, volumes, and databases to a remote backup server.

Note: Before you can synchronize data to a remote server, add a remote backup server to ZStack Cloud Private Cloud. Note that you can add only one remote backup server. For information about how to add a remote backup server, see Remote Backup Server.

Delete Local Backup Data

You can delete the local backup data of local VM instances, volumes, and databases.

Note: By default, only the local backup data is deleted. To delete the backup data in the remote backup server, select Delete Also Data on Remote Backup Server.

Scan Database Backup

You can scan the local backup server to obtain the database backup data on the local backup server.

Note: For a newly added local backup server, you can manually scan the database backup to ensure that the records of the local backup data of the database in the local backup server are consistent with the local records.

Export Backup Data of a Local Database

On the Local Backup Data page, select a backup data and choose Export from the Actions column. Then, you can export the backup data of the database.

Use an Existing Image Storage

Add a New Server

Manage a Local Backup Server

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Platform O&M > Backup Management > Backup Server > Local Backup Server. Then, the Local Backup Server page is displayed.

The following table lists the actions that you can perform on a local backup server.

Action	Description
Add Local Backup Server	Use an existing image storage (ImageStore only) as the local backup server or add a new server as the local backup server.
Enable Local Backup Server	Enable a disabled local backup server.
Disable Local Backup Server	Disable an enabled local backup server. Note: If you specify only one local backup server for a backup job, disabling the local backup server will make the backup job fail. If you specify more than one local backup server for a backup job, when you disable the active one, the backup job will be implemented on the standby one.
Reconnect Local Backup Server	Reconnecting a local backup server will update the records of the backup data on the local backup server.
Scan Backup Data	Scan the existing backup data in the local backup server and display the backup data records on the Cloud platform. Note: Deleted backup data cannot be restored by the scan action.
Cleanup Data	Clean up the invalid backup data and expired temporary data that have been completely deleted from the local backup server to free up the storage space.
Update Password	Change the password of a local backup server.
Delete Local Backup Server	Delete a local backup server. Note: Deleting a local backup server will stop the backup jobs and CDP tasks on the server. Please exercise caution.

Add a remote backup server

Add an Alibaba Cloud backup server

View the Remote Backup Data

On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Platform O&M > Backup Management > Backup Server > Remote Backup Server. Then, the Remote Backup Server page is displayed. Click on the name of a remote backup server to expand its details page. On the Backup Data tab page, you can manage the remote backup data.

Synchronize the Remote Backup Data to a Local Server

You can synchronize the remote backup data of the local VM instances, volumes, and databases to a local server.

Note:

• If you added only one local backup server, the remote backup data will be synchronized to this local backup server.
• If you added multiple local backup servers, you need specify a local backup server and then synchronize the remote backup data to the local server.

Delete Remote Backup Data

You can delete the remote backup data of local VM instances, volumes, and databases.

Note: Deleting the remote backup data also deletes the local records of the remote backup data. The actual data is not affected.

Restore the Remote Backup Data

• Restore a local VM instance
  1. On the Backup Data tab page of the Remote Backup Server details page, select the remote backup data of a VM instance and choose Sync to Local from the Actions column.
  2. Click on the backup data to expand its details page and choose Restore from the Actions column. Then, the Recover Backup Data page is displayed.
  3. On the Recover Backup Data page, set the following parameters:
     • Recovery Policy: Select a recovery policy.
       The following two policies are available:

       • New Resource:
         If you choose this policy, set the following parameters:

         • Name: Set a name for the VM instance.
         • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the VM instance.
         • Instance Offering: Select an instance offering for the VM instance.
         • Network Configuration: Select a network for the VM instance.
         • Recover Volume Data: Choose whether to recover the volume data.
           Note: If the selected backup data is the whole backup data of the VM instance, you can restore the VM instance with its volumes to the local server. This helps ensure the data consistency.
         • Advanced Settings:
           • Primary Storage: Optional. Specify a primary storage for the root volumes of the VM instance.
             Note:

             When you restore the backup data of a VM instance that uses a SharedBlock primary storage, you need to choose a provisioning method, including thin provisioning and thick provisioning.

             • Thin provisioning: Allocates storage spaces to VM instances according to the actual usage to achieve higher storage utilization.
             • Thick provisioning: Pre-allocates the required storage space, providing sufficient storage capacity to VM instances and ensures the storage performance.
           • Host: Optional. Specify a host on which the VM instance is started.

         
         
         

       • Overwrite Original Resource:
         If you choose this policy, set the following parameters:

         • Name: The name of the original resource is displayed.
         • Description: The description (if any) of the original resource is displayed.
         • Recover Volume Data: Choose whether to recover the volume data.

         
         
         

         Note:

         • Before you can overwrite the original resource, stop the VM instance first.
         • If the selected backup data is the whole backup data of the VM instance, you can restore the VM instance with its volumes to the local server. This helps ensure the data consistency.
• Restore a volume
  1. On the Backup Data tab page of the Remote Backup Server details page, select the remote backup data of a VM instance, and choose Sync to Local from the Actions column.
  2. Click on the backup data to expand its details page, and choose Restore from the Actions column. Then, the Recover Backup Data page is displayed. On the displayed page, set the following parameters:
     • Recovery Policy: Select a recovery policy.
       The following two policies are available:

       • New Resource:
         If you choose this policy, set the following parameters:

         • Name: Set a name for the volume.
         • Description: Optional. Enter a description for the volume.
         • VM Instance: Select a VM instance to which the volume is to be attached.
           Note:

           When you restore the backup data of a volume that uses a SharedBlock primary storage, you need to choose a provisioning method, including thin provisioning and thick provisioning.

           • Thin provisioning: Allocates storage spaces to volumes according to the actual usage to achieve higher storage utilization.
           • Thick provisioning: Pre-allocates the required storage space, providing sufficient storage capacity to volumes and ensures the storage performance.
         • Primary Storage: The primary storage used by the VM instance is displayed.
         • VirtIO SCSI: Choose whether to create VirtIO SCSI data volumes. By default, this checkbox is not selected.
           Note: If you are using a LocalStorage primary storage, we recommend that you do not use VirtIO SCSI data volumes.

         
         
         

       • Overwrite Original Resource:
         If you choose this policy, you do not need to make any settings.

         • Name: The name of the original resource is displayed.
         • Description: The description (if any) of the original resource is displayed.

         
         
         

• Restore a database
  • Assume that the original ZStack Cloud Private Cloud exists and you want to restore the database from the remote backup data to overwrite the original one.
    1. Make sure that the global setting Database Recovery from Backup Data is enabled.

       On the main menu of ZStack Cloud, choose Settings > Global Setting > Advanced > Platform O&M > Backup Management and set Database Recovery from Backup Data to true. This allows you to restore a database from the backup data.

    2. On the Backup Data tab page of the Remote Backup Server details page, select the remote backup data of a database, and choose Restore from the Actions column. In the displayed Recover Database dialog box, enter the root password. The initial password is zstack.mysql.password.

       
       
       

       Note:

       • Restoring the database restarts the management node, during which time the management interface cannot be used.
       • This process usually takes a few minutes without affecting your business resources.
       • If you deleted a resource (such as a VM instance or volume) after the backup point, the deleted resource will become invalid and its data cannot be restored. You can clean up the invalid data manually.
    3. The system restores the database.

       
       
       

    4. The database is restored successfully. You can click Relogin to log in to the Cloud again.

       
       
       

       Note: After the database is restored, all resources of the Cloud are back to the original state before the backup. You can click Scan Backup Data in the local backup server page to obtain the actual backup data information.
  • Assume that the original ZStack Cloud Private Cloud does not exist and you want to restore the database from the remote backup data to build a new Cloud.
    1. Log in to the system. Then, the Welcome to use our Cloud page is displayed. Choose Restore Backup Data > Restore.

       
       
       

    2. Prepare the server.
       On the Prepare Server page, set the following parameters:

       • Backup Server IP: Enter the IP address of the remote backup server.
         Note: Make sure that the backup data of the database in the remote backup server is intact.
       • URL: Enter the URL of the storage mounted to the remote backup server. For example, /mnt/remote_ds.
         Note: The backup data of the database is stored in the storage of the URL.
       • SSH Port: Enter the SSH port. Default: 22.
       • User Name: Enter the user name. Default: root.
       • Password: Enter the password.

       
       
       

    3. Prepare backup data.
       On the Prepare Backup Data page, set the following parameters:

       • Database Backup Data: Select the backup data of the database to restore.

       
       
       

       Note:

       • The system will detect the number of the licensed hosts (CPU cores). You need to select the appropriate database backup data to restore. You can also update the license to increase the licensed quota to avoid the management node start failure due to insufficient licensed quota.
    4. In the displayed Recover Database dialog box, enter the root password. The initial password is zstack.mysql.password.

       
       
       

       Note:

       • Restoring the database restarts the management node, during which time the management interface cannot be used.
       • This process usually takes a few minutes without affecting your business resources.
       • If you deleted a resource (such as a VM instance or volume) after the backup point, the deleted resource will become invalid and its data cannot be restored. You can clean up the invalid data manually.
    5. The system restores the database.

       
       
       

    6. The database is restored successfully. You can click Relogin to log in to the Cloud again.

       
       
       

       Note: After the database is restored, all resources of the Cloud are back to the original state before the backup. You can click Scan Backup Data in the local backup server page to obtain the actual backup data information.
    Note:

    • If the management node fails to start due to insufficient licensed quota, a pop up window will be displayed, prompting you to increase the licensed quota and then restore the database.
    • Here are some notices on the business recovery in a newly-built data center:
      • If the network topology and storage architecture of the new data center are the same as those of the original one, the business will be recovered after all hardware resources (such as hosts and primary storages) are successfully reconnected.
      • If the network topology and storage architecture of the new data center are different from those of the original one, you can recover your business by adding a new host and rebuilding a network topology.

Scan Database Backup

You can scan the remote backup server to obtain the database backup data on the remote backup server.

Note: For a newly added remote backup server, you can manually scan the database backup to ensure that the records of the remote backup data of the database in the remote backup server are consistent with the local records.