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Table Of Contents
- VMware vFabric Data Director Administrator and User Guide
- Contents
- About VMware vFabric Data Director
- Updated Information
- VMware vFabric Data Director and vFabric Postgres Overview
- Managing Data Director Resources
- Managing Users and Roles
- Managing Organizations
- Managing Database Groups
- Managing Database Templates
- Managing Databases
- Cloning Databases
- Managing Database Entities
- Safeguarding Data
- Monitoring the Data Director Environment
- Managing Licenses
- Reconfiguring Data Director Networks
- Change the vCenter IP Address
- Reconfigure the Web Console Network Mapping or Network Adapter
- Reconfigure the vCenter Network Mapping
- Reconfigure the vCenter Network Adapter Settings
- Reconfigure the DB Name Service Network or DB Name Service Network Adapter
- Reconfigure the Internal Network or Internal Network Adapter Mapping
- Verify Network Settings in Data Director
- Data Director Troubleshooting
- Index
External Backups
External backups are full copies of the database saved to a datastore separate from the database. This section
describes the pros and cons of using external backups.
External backups use about the same amount of storage as the database itself. Because they reside on a separate
disk from the database, external backups provide resiliency and benefits such as the following.
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External backups protect against data loss due to failure of the primary data storage device.
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External backup storage is more cost effective than using the primary data storage for backups.
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You can extend the data disk as needed.
The following are points to consider about using external backups.
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External backups can take a long time. Large amounts of data must be copied across devices.
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Each backup uses the full size of the data disk on the backup storage device.
Snapshot Backups
Snapshot backups capture the changes to the database after the snapshot is taken. Snapshots initially use less
storage than external backup files and take just a few minutes regardless of database size.
Snapshot backups are stored in files called delta files or delta disks on the same data store as the database.
The following are points to consider about using Snapshot backups.
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Because snapshots reside on the same data store as the database, they do not protect against data loss due
to failure of the data storage.
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As the database changes, the changes require more and more space on the virtual disk. That space is
generally more expensive than backup storage.
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The recovery process from snapshots is not faster than the recovery process from an external backup.
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If you have snapshots, you cannot extend the data disk.
Point-In-Time Recovery
If point-in-time recovery (PITR) is enabled, a write-ahead log (WAL) continuously records every change made
to the database while the database is running. In the event of a failure, you can replay the WAL to restore the
database to its state at a point in time within the retention period of the database backups.
The WAL logs are archived and are subject to a retention period that you set. The time range for point-in-time
recovery is from the time of your oldest backup to the present. The oldest backup can be an external backup
or a snapshot.
By default, PITR is disabled. If you enable PITR, consider the following points.
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Because every change to the database is recorded, PITR requires additional storage. Depending on how
large your database is and how many transactions occur during the WAL archive retention time, the
amount of storage needed can be large.
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PITR has a performance impact on the database and on Data Director as a whole. The impact depends on
the size of the database and the volume of database activity.
Start with a conservative storage allocation. You cannot decrease the storage allocation, but you can increase
it. Monitor the size of the PITR logs until you understand the workload and storage needed, and adjust the
storage amount.
You can specify whether to suspend the database or automatically increase the log retention period if PITR
runs out of space.
Chapter 10 Safeguarding Data
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