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Enable Autobackup

How to manage autobackups for Database Instances

Reviewed on 13 June 2023 • Published on 11 May 2019

With the autobackup feature, the creation and management of your Database Instance backups is automated according to your backup schedule configuration.

Two types of autobackups are available at Scaleway: backups and snapshots.

Backups are used when your Database Instance’s storage option is a local volume. Snapshots are available for Database Instances that use Block Storage volumes.

Important:

Although they bear the same feature name, automated snapshots and automated backups are different in their design. If you have a Database Instance using Block Storage, it is only possible to use automated snapshots as autobackup.

Security & Identity (IAM):

You may need certain IAM permissions to carry out some actions described on this page. This means:

you are the Owner of the Scaleway Organization in which the actions will be carried out, or
you are an IAM user of the Organization, with a policy granting you the necessary permission sets

Requirements:

You have an account and are logged into the Scaleway console
You have a PostgreSQL or MySQL Database Instance

Note:

The autobackup feature is enabled by default upon the creation of an Instance. Simultaneously, a schedule policy is created. The default autobackup frequency is of 1 per day with a retention period of 7 days. You can change this in the Database Instance information page after Instance creation.

By default, the Database Instance creation date is used as the base timestamp for the automated backups. When you change the schedule configuration, the moment you validated the new configuration becomes the new base timestamp. For example, if at 8 a.m. on a Thursday you update the autobackup frequency to 24h, your next autobackup will be created at 8 a.m. on a Friday.

Click PostgreSQL and MySQL under Managed Databases on the side menu. A list of your Database Instances displays.
Click the Database Instance name or «See more Icon» > More info to access the Database Instance information page.

Note:
If you have a Database Instance using Block Storage, you can follow the next steps from the Snapshots tab.
Click «Edit Icon» in the Backup tab to configure the backup frequency and retention.

Note:
Although autobackup is enabled by default, you can disable the feature before you create the Instance, by unchecking the box in the creation wizard. You can also disable it after the Database Instance is ready.
Click «Validate Icon» to confirm.

You can restore and export your backups by following the how to restore backups and how to export backups procedures, respectively.

For snapshots, you can follow the how to restore snapshots procedure to create a Database Instance from a snapshot.