ApsaraDB RDS：Use the emergency recovery feature for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance

Prerequisites

• Your RDS instance meets the following requirements:

  • The RDS instance runs MySQL 8.0, MySQL 5.7, MySQL 5.6, or MySQL 5.5.

  • The RDS instance runs RDS High-availability Edition.

  • The RDS instance uses local SSDs.

  • The RDS instance resides in one of the following regions: China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Chengdu), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Hong Kong), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta), Japan (Tokyo), Germany (Frankfurt), US (Silicon Valley), US (Virginia), and China East 1 Finance.

Note

You can go to the Basic Information page of your RDS instance to obtain the preceding information.

• At least one physical backup is complete for the RDS instance in the ApsaraDB RDS console. For more information, see Use the automatic backup feature or Perform a manual backup.

• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is disabled for the RDS instance. For more information about TDE, see Configure TDE.

• PrivateLink is activated. For more information about how to activate PrivateLink in the console or by calling an operation, see Procedure or OpenPrivateLinkService.

Feature description

Billing rules

You are charged based on the following billable items: CDM storage and sandbox instance.

Step 1: Enable the sandbox feature

Before you create an RDS instance as a sandbox instance and restore data to the sandbox instance, you must perform the following operations to enable the sandbox feature and configure a sandbox policy in the DBS console:

1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

3. On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Crash Recovery tab. On the tab that appears, click Enable DBS Sandbox.

4. In the Set Sandbox Policy dialog box, configure the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Sandbox Feature	Specifies whether to enable the sandbox feature. In this example, turn on Sandbox Feature.
   Sandbox Data Retention Period	The number of days for which DBS retains the sandbox data or sandbox snapshots. By default, the sandbox data or sandbox snapshots are retained for seven days. The following information describes how to use the sandbox data or sandbox snapshots: Your sandbox snapshots can be used after the sandbox snapshots are created. The system automatically deletes the snapshots after the retention period expires. When the system deletes a snapshot, only incremental snapshots are deleted. Incremental snapshots refer to the changes to the previous snapshot. If the value of this parameter does not exceed the log retention period of your RDS instance, you can use sandbox snapshots to restore the data of your RDS instance to a point in time within the time range that the sandbox snapshots cover. A longer retention period indicates that more storage resources are occupied and storage costs are higher. If you want to retain only the most recent snapshot, set this parameter to 0.

5. Click OK.

   After you enable the sandbox feature, the value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter changes to Data preparing. If you enable the sandbox feature for a backup schedule for the first time, DBS stores the latest full backup set to the sandbox storage and generates a snapshot that can be used to create sandbox instances. DBS requires a specific period of time to copy data. The period of time may be 5 to 20 minutes based on the size of the backup data.

   After a specific time range is displayed as the value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter, you can create a temporary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance and restore data to the temporary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

   

   The following table describes the values of the Sandbox instance time range parameter.

   Sandbox state	Description
   Sandbox feature disabled	The value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter is Unopened.
   Preparation after you enable the sandbox feature	The value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter changes to Data preparing.
   Preparation completed	The value of the Sandbox instance time range parameter changes to the time range in which available backup sets are created. Note The time range is from the start time of the earliest backup to the end time of the latest backup.

Step 2: Restore data to the sandbox instance

This section describes how to restore data to a sandbox instance in a quick manner. Read and write operations that are performed on one sandbox instance do not affect data in other sandbox instances or source databases.

1. Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

3. On the Backup and Restoration page, click the Crash Recovery tab. On the tab that appears, click Enable DBS Sandbox.

4. Click Recover Sandbox Instance. In the dialog box that appears, configure the following parameters.

   Section	Parameter	Description
   Sandbox Instance Point in Time	Sandbox Data Time Range	The time range within which data can be restored. The available time range is from the point in time at which the first snapshot was created in the CDM storage to the current point in time. The actual available time range may be shorter. Note Data can be restored within the time range from the point in time at which the first snapshot was created in CDM storage to the end time of the latest binary log file. Data may not be restored within the time range from the end time of the latest binary log file to the current point in time. You can view the point in time when the latest binary log file was generated on the Base Backups > Log Backup tab of the Backup and Restoration page.
   	Recovery Method	Recovery by Snapshot Point in Time: You can select only the point in time when a snapshot was created. If you use this restoration method, the system takes less time to complete the restoration. This is the recommended value. Recovery by Custom Point in Time: If the log backup feature is enabled, you can restore the data of your RDS instance to a point in time within the log backup retention period. The amount of time required for the restoration to complete varies based on the log size. If the log backup feature is disabled, you can restore the data to the point in time when the full backup was created. For more information about the log backup feature, see Use the log backup feature for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. Note You can specify a point in time to restore data only for an RDS instance that runs RDS High-availability Edition after you enable the log backup feature for the instance. For more information, see Use the log backup feature for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
   Sandbox Instance Configurations	Specifications	The specifications of the sandbox instance that you want to create. Valid values: 1 Core, 1 GB Memory 1 Core, 2 GB Memory 2 Cores, 4 GB Memory 2 Cores, 8 GB Memory 4 Cores, 8 GB Memory 4 Cores, 16 GB Memory 8 Cores, 16 GB Memory 8 Cores, 32 GB Memory The restoration speed does not vary with the specifications of sandbox instances. However, sandbox instances with higher specifications deliver better performance. For more information, see Fees of temporary sandbox instances.
   	Region	The region in which the sandbox instance resides. By default, the value of this parameter is fixed.
   	Peer VPC	The virtual private cloud (VPC) for the sandbox instance. Note If you want to connect to the sandbox instance from an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances, you must set this parameter to the VPC in which the ECS instances reside. For more information about how to create a VPC, see Create and manage a VPC.
   	Peer vSwitch	The vSwitch for the sandbox instance. The sandbox instance can be accessed by using the CIDR block specified for the vSwitch.
   	Security Group	The security group that you want to use. You must select an advanced security group. Make sure that the security group allows traffic over port 3306. For more information, see Basic security groups and advanced security groups and Create a security group. Note This parameter is displayed only if you enable the emergency recovery feature for an instance for the first time.
   	Database Account Type	The type of the database account. Valid values: Use Original Database Account: Use the account of the source database. Create Privileged Account: Create a privileged account in the sandbox instance. The privileged account has permissions on all databases in the instance. You must also configure the Database Account and Password parameters. The account of the source database is retained in the sandbox instance. Note A privileged account is created only in the current sandbox instance. If the username of the account for the source database is the same as the username of the privileged account, the account of the source database is overwritten by the privileged account in the sandbox instance.

5. Click OK.

   The system performs a precheck and creates the sandbox instance. When the value of the Sandbox Instance Status parameter changes to Complete, you can connect to the sandbox instance. For more information, see Use DMS to access sandbox instances or Use ECS to access sandbox instances.

   The username and password of the account and all configurations of the sandbox instance are consistent with those of the source database. If you select Create Privileged Account in the preceding operation, you can also use the privileged account that is created to connect to the sandbox instance.

   Note

   The client, such as an ECS instance, that you use to connect to the sandbox instance reside in the same VPC as the sandbox instance.

What to do next

Release a sandbox instance

If you no longer need the sandbox instance, you can release it based on your business requirements. After you release the sandbox instance, DBS no longer charges you for the CDM storage. For more information, see Billing rules.

In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration. On the Crash Recovery tab of the page that appears, click Release Sandbox Instance in the Actions column of the sandbox instance.