Configuring the cluster snapshot backup

Configuring the cluster snapshot

Note: 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:

Configuration flags	Description	When to use it	Default value
-s, --schedule (optional)	Provide a cron expression to set up a snapshot schedule. Click here to experiment with cron expressions.	Only for the snapshot backup	*/45 * * * *, meaning a snapshot takes place every 45 minutes. For example, the value 0 0 * * 2 triggers a backup of snapshots every Tuesday at 00:00 hours.
-r, --retention (optional)	Provide the number of hours to retain the snapshot.	Only for the snapshot backup	168 h (seven days)
-t, --target (mandatory)	Provide the target type used to store the snapshot backup.	Snapshot backup Restoring the backup	NFS, which is the supported type.
-e, --endpoint (mandatory)	Provide the FQDN or the IP address of the snapshot storage location. For example, mynfs.mycompany.com or 192.23.222.81.	Snapshot backup Restoring the backup	N/A
-l, --location (mandatory)	Provide the location or path to the snapshot storage location.	Snapshot backup Restoring the backup	N/A
-p, --prefix (optional)	Provide a string to prefix all the scheduled snapshot backups.	N/A	schedule
-h, --help	Displays help instructions.	N/A	N/A
-d, --debug	To run in debug mode.	N/A	N/A

Example

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

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 scheduled backup of your cluster snapshot, take the following steps:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Enable the snapshot backup:

   ./configureUiPathAS.sh snapshot backup enable

Note:

• If the prefix of the new snapshot is already used by an existing snapshot, an error occurs. To prevent the error, disable said snapshot and rerun the command in step 2.
• If the scheduled backup failed due to timeout, and you received an alert notification, rerun the command in step 2 with the additional --csi-snapshot-timeout 3h flag to increase the timeout to 3 hours.

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 based on a snapshot, take the following steps:

1. Log into any of the server nodes.
2. Create the backup:

   ./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

Note:

• Your retention policy does not delete on-demand snapshot backups. To avoid unnecessary storage consumption, delete on-demand backups manually.
• If the backup failed due to timeout, rerun the command in step 2 with the additional --csi-snapshot-timeout 3h flag to increase the timeout to 3 hours.

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

Important: 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