Back Up and Restore TiDB Cloud Dedicated Data

This document describes how to back up and restore your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster data on TiDB Cloud. TiDB Cloud Dedicated supports automatic backup and manual backup. You can also restore backup data to a new cluster or restore a deleted cluster from the recycle bin.

Limitations

• For clusters of v6.2.0 or later versions, TiDB Cloud Dedicated supports restoring user accounts and SQL bindings from backups by default.
• TiDB Cloud Dedicated does not support restoring system variables stored in the mysql schema.
• It is recommended that you import data first, then perform a manual snapshot backup, and finally enable Point-in-time Restore. Because the data imported through the TiDB Cloud console does not generate change logs, it cannot be automatically detected and backed up. For more information, see Import CSV Files from Cloud Storage into TiDB Cloud Dedicated.
• If you turn on and off Point-in-time Restore multiple times, you can only choose a time point within the recoverable range after the most recent Point-in-time Restore is enabled. The earlier recoverable range is not accessible.
• DO NOT modify the switches of Point-in-time Restore and Dual Region Backup at the same time.

Backup

View the Backup page

1. On the Clusters page of your project, click the name of your target cluster to go to its overview page.

   Tip

   You can use the combo box in the upper-left corner to switch between organizations, projects, and clusters.

2. In the left navigation pane, click Data > Backup.

Turn on auto backup

TiDB Cloud Dedicated supports both snapshot backup and log backup. Snapshot backup enables you to restore data to the backup point. By default, snapshot backups are taken automatically and stored according to your backup retention policy. You can disable auto backup at any time.

Turn on Point-in-time Restore

This feature supports restoring data of any point in time to a new cluster. You can use it to:

• Reduce RPO in disaster recovery.
• Resolve cases of data write errors by restoring point-in-time that is before the error event.
• Audit the historical data of the business.

It is strongly recommended to turn on this feature. The cost is the same as snapshot backup. For more information, refer to Data Backup Cost.

To turn on this feature for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Click Backup Setting.

3. Toggle the Auto Backup switch to On.

4. Toggle the Point-in-time Restore switch to On.

   Warning

   Point-in-Time Restore only takes effect after the next backup task is completed. To make it take effect earlier, you can manually perform a backup after enabling it.

5. Click Save to save changes.

Configure backup schedule

TiDB Cloud Dedicated supports daily and weekly backup schedules. By default, the backup schedule is set to daily. You can choose a specific time of the day or week to start snapshot backup.

To configure the backup schedule for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Click Backup Setting.

3. Toggle the Auto Backup switch to On.

4. Configure the backup schedule as follows:

   • In Backup Cycle, click either the Daily Backup or Weekly Backup tab. For Weekly Backup, you need to specify the days of the week for the backup.

     Warning

     • When weekly backup is enabled, the Point-in-time Restore feature is enabled by default and you can disable it manually.
     • If you change the backup cycle from weekly to daily, the Point-in-time Restore feature remains its original setting. You can manually disable it if needed.

   • In Backup Time, schedule a start time for the daily or weekly cluster backup.

     If you do not specify a preferred backup time, TiDB Cloud assigns a default backup time, which is 2:00 AM in the time zone of the region where the cluster is located.

     Note

     • Backup jobs are automatically delayed when data import jobs are in progress. DO NOT run manual backups during data import or cluster scaling.

   • In Backup Retention, configure the minimum backup data retention period. The default period is 7 days. To minimize the impact on business, it is recommended to schedule automatic backup during periods of low workloads.

     Note

     • All auto-backups, except the latest one, will be deleted if their lifetime exceeds the retention period. The latest auto-backup will not be deleted unless you delete it manually. This ensures that you can restore cluster data if accidental deletion occurs.
     • After you delete a cluster, auto-backups with a lifetime within the retention period will be moved to the recycle bin.

Turn on dual region backup

TiDB Cloud Dedicated supports dual region backup by replicating backups from your cluster region to another different region. After you enable this feature, all backups are automatically replicated to the specified region. This provides cross-region data protection and disaster recovery capabilities. It is estimated that approximately 99% of the data can be replicated to the secondary region within an hour.

Dual region backup costs include both backup storage usage and cross-region data transfer fees. For more information, refer to Data Backup Cost.

To turn on dual region backup for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Click Backup Setting.

3. Toggle the Dual Region Backup switch to On.

4. From the Secondary Region drop-down list, select a region to store the backup files.

5. Click Save to save changes.

Turn off auto backup

To turn off auto backup for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Click Backup Setting.

3. Toggle the Auto Backup switch to Off.

4. Click Save to save changes.

Turn off dual region backup

To turn off dual region backup for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Click Backup Setting.

3. Toggle the Dual Region Backup switch to Off.

4. Click Save to save changes.

Perform a manual backup

Manual backups are user-initiated backups that enable you to back up your data to a known state as needed, and then restore to that state at any time.

To apply a manual backup to your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. In the upper-right corner, click ... > Manual Backup.

3. In the displayed dialog, enter a Name.

4. Click Confirm. Then your cluster data is backed up.

Delete backups

Delete backup files

To delete an existing backup file for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Locate the corresponding backup file you want to delete, and click ... > Delete in the Action column.

Delete a running backup job

To delete a running backup job for your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster, follow a process similar to Delete backup files.

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Locate the running backup job that is in the Pending or Running state, and click ... > Delete in the Action column.

Restore

Restore data to a new cluster

To restore your TiDB Cloud Dedicated cluster data from a backup to a new cluster, take the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Backup page of your cluster.

2. Click Restore. The setting window displays.

3. In Restore Mode, choose Restore From Region, indicating the region of backup stores.

   Note

   • The default value of the Restore From Region is the same as the backup cluster.

4. In Restore Mode, choose to restore data of any point in time or a selected backup to a new cluster.

   To restore data of any point in time within the backup retention to a new cluster, make sure that Point-in-time Restore in Backup Setting is on and then take the following steps:

   • Click Select Time Point.
   • Select Date and Time you want to restore to.

   To restore a selected backup to the new cluster, take the following steps:

   • Click Select Backup Name.
   • Select a backup you want to restore to.

5. In Restore to Region, select the same region as the Primary Region configured in the Backup Setting.

6. In the Restore window, you can also make the following changes if necessary:

   • Set the cluster name.
   • Update the port number of the cluster.
   • Increase node number, vCPU and RAM, and storage for the cluster.

7. Click Restore.

   The cluster restore process starts and the Password Settings dialog box is displayed.

8. In the Password Settings dialog box, set the root password to connect to your cluster, and then click Save.

Restore a deleted cluster

To restore a deleted cluster from recycle bin, take the following steps:

1. In the TiDB Cloud console, switch to your target project using the combo box in the upper-left corner.

2. In the left navigation pane, click Project Settings > Recycle Bin.

3. On the Recycle Bin page, locate the cluster you want to restore, click ... in the Action column, and then click Backups.

4. On the Backups page, locate your desired backup time, click ... in the Action column, and then click Restore.

5. On the Restore page, specify a name for the new cluster, and then make the following changes if necessary:

   • Update the port number of the cluster.
   • Increase the node number, vCPU and RAM, and storage for the cluster.

6. In the Summary section, check the restore information, and then click Restore.

   The cluster restore process starts and the Password Settings dialog box is displayed.

7. In the Password Settings dialog box, set the root password to connect to your cluster, and then click Save.