[Product changes/Feature changes] New physical backup file format is phased in for some ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances - ApsaraDB RDS

Description

Starting January 20, 2021, a new file format, _xb.qp, is phased in to increase the speed of physical backups. This new file format is supported only for ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances for which the restoration feature for individual databases and tables is enabled.

Note

The previously used file format _qp.xb is phased out.
Existing _qp.xb files are not converted into _xb.qp files.
The restoration feature for individual databases and tables is supported for RDS instances that run MySQL 8.0, MySQL 5.7, or MySQL 5.6 on RDS High-availability Edition with local disks.
You can log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console and go to the Backup Settings tab on the Backup and Restoration page to view the status of the restoration feature for individual databases and tables or enable this feature.

Suggestions

If the restoration feature for individual databases and tables is enabled, you must decompress the downloaded physical backup file based on the file format.

If the downloaded physical backup file is in the _xb.qp format, run the following command to decompress the file:
```
qpress -do  <The name of the downloaded physical backup file>  | xbstream -x -v -C /home/mysql/data
```

If the downloaded physical backup file is in the _qp.xb format, run the following commands to decompress the file:

## Decompress the downloaded physical backup file.
cat <The name of the downloaded physical backup file> | xbstream -x -v -C /home/mysql/data

## Decompress the downloaded physical backup file. This command applies if your RDS instance runs MySQL 5.6 or MySQL 5.7.
innobackupex --decompress --remove-original /home/mysql/data
## Decompress the downloaded physical backup file. This command applies if your RDS instance runs MySQL 8.0.
xtrabackup --decompress --remove-original --target-dir=/home/mysql/data

Note

In the preceding commands, /home/mysql/data is an example path.

For more information, see Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance from a physical backup file to a self-managed MySQL database.

If the restoration feature for individual databases and tables is disabled, we recommend that you enable this feature. After the new file format _xb.qp is applied, the speed at which you can back up the data of your RDS instance is increased.