Backups

To configure backups or to do restores or copies, you must be on a Pro or Enterprise plan, and your account must have owner or administrator privilege.

Fauna natively employs data redundancy, where three or more copies of a database schema and documents exist at any given time, and redundancy is scoped to a Region Group, such that data in one Region Group isn’t replicated in another Region Group. Because redundancy can’t protect against operator errors, logic bugs, and other operational conditions that might cause unexpected behavior, Fauna provides a backup/restore/copy feature.

Be aware that backup snapshots incur creation and retention charges. See Billing for more information.

Operational characteristics

Daily, at or near 6 AM UTC, Fauna takes a snapshot of databases that have backups enabled. Snapshots have the following attributes:

  • Every snapshot has all database schema and documents, including available child databases, collections, credentials, functions, indexes, keys, tokens, and external authentication configuration, as of the time the snapshot is taken.

    You have the option of scheduling snapshot generation daily, weekly, or monthly.

  • Snapshots are stored internally, outside of the main database, and are not downloadable.

  • Snapshot storage exists in the same Region Group as the original database.

  • Daily snapshots don’t affect previously created snapshots.

  • A snapshot is available at about the same time each day, plus or minus 30 minutes.

  • By default, snapshots are retained for 30 days, although you can choose a custom retention period:

    • 5 days

    • 15 days

    • 1 month (default)

    • 3 months

    • 6 months

    • 1 year

    • indefinitely

  • Expired snapshots are removed no more than 24 hours after the retention interval expires.

  • Snapshots exist at the account level and are retained even if the original database is deleted or if backups are disabled for the database. This is convenient for recovering an accidentally deleted database.

Constraints

  • You can’t snapshot databases nested 10 or more levels below a top-level parent database. If you back up a database that includes child databases, regardless of how deeply nested, the child database is backed up with the parent database.

  • Up to five restores can be in progress simultaneously. If you try to restore more than five databases simultaneously, an error message displays.

  • Snapshots are internally consistent up to the logical time that the snapshot is created. Snapshots don’t include document changes or index builds that complete after the snapshot transaction time.

  • Index builds that started but aren’t completed before a database snapshot is taken don’t resume when the snapshot is restored. After restoration or copying, these indexes have a status of active: false. To resume building these indexes, delete the index and recreate it.

  • You should review the restored database for inactive index builds when you restore or copy from a snapshot.

View backup status and snapshots

  1. Log in to the Dashboard.

  2. Choose Backups in the left navigation panel and click VIEW BACKUPS, which displays your databases.

The BACKUPS column displays the enable status for each database.

The LATAEST SNAPSHOT column displays the time of the latest snapshot.

Create backups and snapshots

  1. Log in to the Dashboard.

  2. Choose Backups in the left navigation panel and click VIEW BACKUPS, which displays your databases.

  3. For the database for which you want to manage backups, click the associated gear icon in the ACTIONS column. This displays the Backup Settings dialog, which includes the Backup Status for the database and saved Snapshots with their Retention interval.

  4. If not already selected, select the Enable toggle to display the Backup Schedule options.

  5. Choose from Daily, Weekly, or Monthly backup periods. If you select Weekly, you can select which day of the week you want to take the snapshot. If you select Monthly, you can select the day of the month, including the Last day of the month.

  6. Optionally, choose a Backup Retention interval. The default retention interval is one month or 30 days.

  7. Click SAVE. A check mark displays in the BACKUPS column for databases that have backups enabled.

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