Automation is the technological implementation that allows a task to be performed with minimal human intervention. In AWS, one of these tasks includes creating snapshots and backups depending on the use case. When it comes to AWS services such as RDS and AWS Backup, snapshots and automated backups are intrinsic features that users get out of the box. They are crucial for preventing data loss and ensuring business continuity.
RDS Snapshots
In Amazon RDS, you have two types of snapshots: automated snapshots and manual snapshots. Automated snapshots are taken of the DB instance daily during the defined backup window. Manual snapshots, you initiate yourself when you need to.
AWS Backup
AWS Backup is Amazon’s fully managed solution for creating backups of your data across AWS regions. AWS Backup centrally manages and automates backups across AWS services such as EBS volumes, DynamoDB, Amazon RDS, Amazon EFS, and AWS Storage Gateway.
RTO and RPO
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) are two crucial metrics in disaster recovery and backup planning. RTO is the maximum acceptable length of time that can elapse after an outage before you must recover your data. RPO, on the other hand, is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time.
For example, if your RTO is one hour, you must recover your data and have your system operational within that hour after an outage. If your RPO is also one hour, you can tolerate one hour’s worth of data loss.
Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager
Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager helps manage the lifecycle of AWS EBS volume snapshots. With lifecycle management, you can automate the creation, retention, and deletion of snapshots, simplifying the management, reducing cost, and eliminating the potential for human error.
Implementation of Retention Policy with Example
Retention policies are crucial in managing backups, where you specify how frequently backups are created and for how long they are stored. Here’s is an example implementation using AWS CLI commands:
aws backup create-backup-plan --backup-plan \
'{
"BackupPlanName": "MyBackupPlan",
"Rules": [
{
"RuleName": "DailyBackups",
"TargetBackupVaultName": "MyBackupVault",
"ScheduleExpression": "cron(0 12 * * ? *)",
"StartWindowMinutes": 60,
"CompletionWindowMinutes": 100,
"Lifecycle": {
"DeleteAfterDays": 30
}
}
]
}'
This command creates a backup plan named “MyBackupPlan” that performs a backup daily, starting at 12 PM. The backup job must begin within one hour after 12 PM (StartWindowMinutes) and finish within 100 minutes (CompletionWindowMinutes); otherwise, the job is halted. The backup will be deleted after 30 days (DeleteAfterDays).
Conclusion
Whether it’s automating RDS snapshots, using AWS Backup for cross-region backups, defining RTO and RPO for disaster recovery planning, or facilitating EBS snapshots through Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager, automating snapshots and backups in AWS plays a significant role in maintaining data integrity and business continuity. Furthermore, implementing a retention policy ensures backup space is used optimally, deleting unnecessary backups according to defined schedules.
By using these tools and features, AWS users can ensure they meet their data recovery objectives while minimizing manual tasks and potential for errors. Thus, it is critical for an AWS Certified SysOps Administrator to understand and effectively employ these features.
Practice Test
True or False: RDS snapshots are a point-in-time copy of your database instance.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The point-in-time snapshot feature of Amazon RDS allows you to back up your entire DB instance, including system volume, log volumes, and all the data files.
In AWS, can Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager be used to automate the creation, retention, and deletion of snapshots?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager helps you automate snapshot management tasks, saving time and resources in the backup and retention in EC
RTO (Recovery Time Objective) refers to the time it takes to restore from a backup or snapshot in case of loss.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: RTO is the desired length of time between an interruption to a service and the restoration of that service. This is a measure of time connected to service recovery.
AWS Backup is a fully managed backup service that makes it easy to centralize and automate the backups of data across AWS services. Is that right?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS Backup automates the backup and recovery tasks required to protect applications and data from human error, script errors, and malicious activity.
Which AWS service allows you to automate backup scheduling, retention, and restore tasks for RDS databases?
- A. AWS Lambda
- B. AWS CloudFormation
- C. AWS Solution Architect
- D. AWS Backup
Answer: D. AWS Backup
Explanation: AWS Backup is a centralized backup service that makes it easier to back up AWS resources, including backing up RDS databases.
Can RPO (Recovery Point Objective) be defined as the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in units of time?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: RPO is often measured in units of time – seconds, minutes, hours. It refers to the maximum acceptable amount of data loss that a company can handle.
True or False: The retention policy of Amazon RDS doesn’t control how long automatic backups are retained.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Retention policy in Amazon RDS controls how long automatic backups are kept before being automatically deleted.
Can Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager automate the lifecycle of EBS snapshots only?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Although initially only for EBS, now Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager can manage the lifecycle of EBS volumes, RDS databases, and AWS Storage Gateway volumes.
In AWS, is it possible to share RDS snapshots with other AWS accounts?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon RDS creates automated backups of your DB instances and retains them according to the configured retention period. These snapshots can be shared with other AWS accounts.
Is it necessary to pause the database operations during an AWS RDS snapshot?
- True for multi-AZ deployments
- False for single deployments
Answer: True for multi-AZ deployments, False for single deployments.
Explanation: For Multi-AZ deployment, I/O activity is not suspended on the primary during a snapshot while for a Single-AZ DB instance, DB instance is paused during the snapshot.
Does Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager take snapshots only at the instance level?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager can take snapshots at the instance level, volume level or both depending on the configuration.
Is AWS Backup compatible with Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon RDS?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS Backup supports several AWS services, including Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon RDS, Amazon EFS, and others.
True or False: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager can manage the lifecycle of your on-premises volumes and databases.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager specifically manages the lifecycle of AWS resources like EBS volumes, RDS databases, and AWS Storage Gateway volumes.
Can Amazon RDS automatically backup your database, log files, and database transaction log?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon RDS creates automated backups of your DB instances. This backup includes the database, log files, and the transaction logs.
Does Amazon S3 offers lifecycle management for object storage?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon S3’s lifecycle policy is designed to automate the tiering, archival, and retrieval or expiration of data to help customers manage costs, meet their compliance needs, and partition data across the appropriate tiers of storage.
Interview Questions
What AWS service automates snapshots based on defined use cases and retention policies?
Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager automates the creation, retention, and deletion of Amazon EBS volume snapshots.
What is the purpose of AWS Backup service?
AWS Backup is a fully managed backup service that makes it easy to centralize and automate the backup of data across AWS services including Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon EFS, and AWS Storage Gateway.
What do RTO and RPO stand for in disaster recovery planning?
RTO stands for Recovery Time Objective which is the duration of time within which a business process must be restored after a disaster. RPO stands for Recovery Point Objective which is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time before the disaster occurred.
How does Amazon RDS handle backups?
Amazon RDS creates automated backups of your DB instance during the backup window of your DB instance. It saves the backup files to an Amazon S3 bucket.
What is a snapshot in AWS?
A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of your data. Amazon RDS and Amazon EBS use snapshots for backup and restore operations.
What is the retention policy concerning AWS services?
A retention policy in AWS terms is the length of time that each individual recovery point lives before being automatically deleted.
Can you restore individual tables from Amazon RDS snapshots?
No, you cannot restore individual tables from a DB snapshot; you can only restore full DB instances.
How do you backup Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
Amazon EFS file systems can be backed up using AWS Backup service.
How long does AWS Backup retain automatic backups?
The default backup retention period set by AWS Backup service is 35 days.
How many recovery points does AWS Backup retain?
AWS Backup service retains recovery points based on the lifecycle policy you define, there is no hard limit to the number of recovery points it can retain.
What AWS service can you use to create a disaster recovery plan?
You can use AWS CloudEndure Disaster Recovery for implementing a disaster recovery plan.
What are the supported sources for AWS Backup?
AWS Backup supports Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon RDS, Amazon EFS, Amazon EBS, and AWS Storage Gateway as backup sources.
What is the purpose of Amazon S3 Glacier as related to data backup?
Amazon S3 Glacier and Glacier Deep Archive are secure, durable, and extremely low-cost Amazon S3 cloud storage classes for long-term data backup and archive.
Can you control the timing of an automated backup in Amazon RDS?
Yes, you can control the timing of the automated backup for an Amazon RDS DB instance by setting the preferred backup window.
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