Configure periodic backups

Learn how to configure automatic periodic backups.

You can configure ThoughtSpot to back up automatically at specified times. The policy allows you to control the type, frequency, retention periods (first-in-first-out), and output location for a periodic backup.

A periodic backup uses the same steps as creating a backup manually. However, you do not have to specify a snapshot name. The system uses the most recent snapshot. You can back up to a local file system, mount a NAS (network attached storage) file system to hold the backup, or back up to an S3 bucket. A NAS file system is recommended. Make sure you have adequate space to store the number of backups you want to archive.

Default policy format

This is the format for a backup policy. Note that the command populates several parameters with their defaults. The default mode is FULL, the type is STANDALONE, and the storage_type is NAS. You can change the mode and storage_type, and you must specify a directory and a name.

The longest possible backup schedule you can configure is one week. This configuration should be entered as:

schedule {
period {
number: 7
unit: DAY
    }
}

ThoughtSpot does not generate an error for periods greater than seven days, but the snapshot will not be created.

 
name: "name_for_backup"
param {
    mode: FULL | DATALESS | LIGHTWEIGHT
    type: STANDALONE
}
schedule {
    period {
      number: integer
      unit: MINUTE | HOUR | DAY
    }
    retention_policy {
          time {
          number: integer
          unit:  MINUTE | HOUR | DAY
        }
        capacity: integer
      }
  }
  offset_minutes_from_sunday_midnight: integer
}
directory: "NAME"
storage_type: NAS | LOCAL | S3
enabled: true (required for any periodic backup)
bucket_name: "your-S3-bucket-name-in-quotes" (You only need this parameter if your storage_type is S3. The bucket name must be in quotes.)
To periodically back up your cluster to an S3 bucket, specify S3 for the storage_type, and include the enabled and bucket_name parameters.

Before you begin

Before creating a policy, make sure you have read Understand backup/snapshot schedules for information on configuring a schedule element. In addition, you must specify the following parameters:

Element Description

name

Specify a name for your backup, so you can identify it later.

mode

The backup mode. FULL backups are necessary for restoring a cluster. See understand backup modes for details on each backup mode.

type

Only STANDALONE is supported.

directory

The location on the disk to place the backup. You specify an existing directory path, but the folder (the last part of the path: /home/admin/<folder>) must not already exist. ThoughtSpot creates the folder when it runs a backup.

storage_type

The type of storage you are using. NAS storage is recommended for FULL backups.

Create a backup policy

Backups cannot start when another backup is still running. Choose a reasonable frequency for the backup mode in your policy. For example, a FULL backup takes longer than a DATALESS backup. Consider the load on the system when configuring. Do not back up when the system would experience a heavy load. For example, you may want to take FULL backups late in the evening or on weekends.

The retention system deletes the oldest stored backup and the corresponding snapshot on a first-in-first-out basis (FIFO). This means that if you set a bucket retention of 1, the system stores a single backup at any one time. The system deletes the older backup after the new full backup is successful.

Configure using tscli

To configure periodic backups using the tscli:

  1. Log in to the Linux shell using SSH.

     $ ssh admin@<cluster-IP>

  2. Find a directory with enough disk space to support the retention_policy number you configure.

    You can use df -h to see free disk space and tscli snapshot ls to view existing snapshots and their size on disk.

  3. Use the tscli backup-policy create command.

     $ tscli backup-policy create

    The command opens a vi editor for you to configure the backup policy.

  4. Write and save the file to store your configuration.

    By default, newly created policies are automatically enabled. To disable a policy, use the tscli backup-policy disable command.

Doing more with backup

The following table lists some additional backup commands you can use.

To Command

List present backup policies.

tscli backup-policy ls

Show a backup policy.

tscli backup-policy show <name>

Check the status of a policy.

tscli backup-policy status <name>

Change an existing policy.

tscli backup-policy update <name>

Disable or enable an existing policy.

tscli backup-policy disable or enable

Delete a policy

tscli backup-policy delete <name>

Finally, you can time a crontab job with your periodic backup configuration to move a backup to longer term storage. Simply create a crontab job that moves the backup to a location outside of the directory defined in the periodic schedule.

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