Configuring the cluster snapshot

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Important!

Before configuring the cluster, disable any scheduled snapshot. You can re-enable the schedules after the snapshot configuration.

Prerequisites: Make sure to configure the snapshot storage location.

To configure the cluster snapshot:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Run the following command:

cd <installer directory>
./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot config

To see the available flags, append -h to the previous command.

The following table lists the available flags and their usage:

Example

cd <installer directory>
./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot config -s "*/45 * * * *" -r "48h" -t nfs -e 192.168.10.5 -l "/backup-store" --prefix "schedule"

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Important!

Note 1: Any cron expression provided as part of the --schedule parameter matches the time of the cluster node. We recommend you to sync the cron expression with the scheduled backup of your external data stores (such as SQL database and objectstore).

Note 2: Automation Suite stores only the snapshot backed-up during the defined retention policy. If your retention policy has a shorter duration, you may lose essential snapshots once retention policy applies. Similarly, if the retention policy has a longer duration, more snapshot are stored, which may take up space on the NFS server.

Note 3: Carefully consider the schedule setup. Taking snapshots at small intervals (for example, 30 minutes) implies frequent backup operations, forcing you to store the last 30-minutes data. Similarly, taking snapshots once a week can cause data loss, if a disaster occurs much later than the previous backup. Therefore, we strongly recommend the synchronization of the backup schedule and the retention duration with your Recovery Point Objective (RPO) requirements.

Enabling the snapshot backup

To enable a periodical backup of your cluster snapshot:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Run the following command:

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot backup enable

Note: Expect an error if a snapshot with the same prefix is already enabled. To prevent the error, disable the respective snapshot and rerun the command.

Disabling the snapshot backup

To disable the periodical backup of a cluster snapshot:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Run the following command:

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot backup disable

Note: Expect an error if the backup you want to disable is not enabled.

On-demand snapshot backup

To create a backup out of a snapshot:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Run the following command:

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot backup create <backup name>

Note: Replace <backup name> with a unique name you want to assign to the backup.

The snapshot trigger is an asynchronous operation. However, you can append the –wait flag to wait until the snapshot backup is complete.

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot backup create <backup name> --wait

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Your retention policy does not delete on-demand snapshot backups. To avoid unnecessary storage consumption, delete on-demand backups manually.

Listing existing snapshots

To see existing backups and their statuses:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Run the following command:

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot list

A list of all cluster snapshots (on-demand and scheduled) with their statuses, creation times, and expiration times is displayed:

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot list
NAME           STATUS             CREATION                       EXPIRATION
manualbackup1   Completed        2022-09-13 09:19:50 +0000 UTC  2023-09-13 09:19:50 +0000 UTC
manualbackup2   PartiallyFailed  2022-09-13 09:19:50 +0000 UTC  2023-09-13 09:19:50 +0000 UTC

Deleting a backup

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Cannot undo!

Deleting a backup includes deleting the cluster metadata and the volume data from the backup storage server. This operation is irreversible.

To delete snapshot backups from the backup server, run the following command:

./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot delete -h
Delete the snapshot backup

Usage:
  configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot delete (name | --all) [flags]

Flags:
  -a, --all                Delete all the snapshots
  -f, --force              Forcibly delete the snapshot without confirmation
  -h, --help               help for delete

Examples

Deleting a specified snapshot

This command deletes the specified snapshot after receiving your confirmation.

configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot delete <snapshot name>

Note: Replace <snapshot name> with the name of the backup you want to delete.

Silently deleting a specified snapshot

This command deletes the snapshot without prompting you for confirmation.

configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot delete <snapshot name> --force

Note: Replace <snapshot name> with the name of the backup you want to silently delete.

Deleting all snapshots

This commands deletes all snapshots after receiving your confirmation.

configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot delete --all

Silently deleting all snapshots

This command deletes all existing snapshots without prompting you for confirmation.

configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot delete --all --force