Restore an AlloyDB Omni cluster using pgBackRest

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This page shows you how to restore an AlloyDB Omni cluster using a backup created with pgBackRest, the open-source backup solution included with the AlloyDB Omni container.

Because AlloyDB Omni is compatible with PostgreSQL, the data-restoration commands and techniques described by the pgBackRest manual apply to AlloyDB Omni as well. This page demonstrates a selection of common recovery tasks, with examples of relevant commands.

For more information about configuring pgBackRest to work with AlloyDB Omni, see Set up pgBackRest for AlloyDB Omni.

For Kubernetes-based information, see Back up and restore in Kubernetes.

Before you begin

Before restoring an AlloyDB Omni cluster, ensure that you have the following:

  • Set up and configured pgBackRest for your AlloyDB Omni instance.

  • Sufficient disk space on destination file system to store the restored AlloyDB Omni database cluster.

  • Same major version of AlloyDB Omni used for the restoration container as the original source container.

    To check your version of PostgreSQL, run the following command:

    Docker

    docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME psql -c "SELECT version();"

    Docker

    docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME psql -c "SELECT version();"

    Podman

    podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME psql -c "SELECT version();"

    Podman

    podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME psql -c "SELECT version();"

    Replace the following variable:

    • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.

    To check your version of pgBackRest, run the following command:

    Docker

    docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest version

    Docker

    docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest version

    Podman

    podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest version

    Podman

    podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest version

    Replace the following variable:

    • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.

    If your target container has a different version of PostgreSQL, pgBackRest, or both, then you need to create a new target container with a matching version. If this is not possible, then you need to use an alternative method, such as the PostgreSQL included pg_dump or pg_dumpall utilities to copy your databases across versions.

Stop your AlloyDB Omni container

To simulate your AlloyDB Omni database cluster not being available, stop the container.

Docker

docker stop CONTAINER_NAME
docker rm CONTAINER_NAME

Docker

docker stop CONTAINER_NAME
docker rm CONTAINER_NAME

Podman

podman stop CONTAINER_NAME
podman rm CONTAINER_NAME

Podman

podman stop CONTAINER_NAME
podman rm CONTAINER_NAME

Replace the following variable:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.

Create idle AlloyDB Omni container

Docker

docker run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
google/alloydbomni:latest sleep infinity

Docker

docker run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
google/alloydbomni:latest sleep infinity

Podman

podman run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
docker.io/google/alloydbomni:latest sleep infinity

Podman

podman run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
docker.io/google/alloydbomni:latest sleep infinity

Replace the following variables:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.
  • DATA_DIR: Host directory path that your data is stored in.
  • BACKUP_DIR: External directory path that your backups are stored in.
  • HOST_PORT: TCP port on the host machine that the container should publish its own port 5432 to. To use the PostgreSQL default port on the host machine as well, specify 5432.

Remove your data directory

To clear your AlloyDB Omni database cluster, remove the data directory.

Docker

docker exec CONTAINER_NAME sh -c "rm -rf /var/lib/postgresql/data/*"

Docker

docker exec CONTAINER_NAME sh -c "rm -rf /var/lib/postgresql/data/*"

Podman

podman exec CONTAINER_NAME sh -c "rm -rf /var/lib/postgresql/data/*"

Podman

podman exec CONTAINER_NAME sh -c "rm -rf /var/lib/postgresql/data/*"

Replace the following variable:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.

Validate that your backups are visible

Docker

docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
info

Docker

docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
info

Podman

podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
info

Podman

podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
info

Replace the following variables:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.
  • STANZA_NAME: Name of the stanza you created. For example, my-stanza.

Restore your backup

Docker

docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
restore

Docker

docker exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
restore

Podman

podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
restore

Podman

podman exec -u postgres CONTAINER_NAME pgbackrest \
--config-path=/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
--stanza=STANZA_NAME \
restore

Replace the following variables:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.
  • STANZA_NAME: Name of the stanza you created. For example, my-stanza.

Remove idle AlloyDB Omni container

Docker

docker kill CONTAINER_NAME
docker rm CONTAINER_NAME

Docker

docker kill CONTAINER_NAME
docker rm CONTAINER_NAME

Podman

podman kill CONTAINER_NAME
podman rm CONTAINER_NAME

Podman

podman kill CONTAINER_NAME
podman rm CONTAINER_NAME

Replace the following variable:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.

Create AlloyDB Omni container

Docker

docker run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
google/alloydbomni:latest

Docker

docker run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
google/alloydbomni:latest

Podman

podman run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
docker.io/google/alloydbomni:latest

Podman

podman run -d --name CONTAINER_NAME \
-v DATA_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
-v BACKUP_DIR:/var/lib/postgresql/backups \
-p HOST_PORT:5432 \
--restart=always \
docker.io/google/alloydbomni:latest

Replace the following variables:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.
  • DATA_DIR: Host directory path that your data is stored in.
  • BACKUP_DIR: External directory path that your backups are stored in.
  • HOST_PORT: TCP port on the host machine that the container should publish its own port 5432 to. To use the PostgreSQL default port on the host machine as well, specify 5432.

Validate that AlloyDB Omni started

Docker

docker logs -f CONTAINER_NAME

Docker

docker logs -f CONTAINER_NAME

Podman

podman logs -f CONTAINER_NAME

Podman

podman logs -f CONTAINER_NAME

Replace the following variable:

  • CONTAINER_NAME: Name you used for your container. For example, my-omni-1.

Other options

The pgBackRest restore command is very flexible, with an array of options and features that you can control through passing in different command-line options. For a complete guide to performing restores, see Restore.