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Storage Provider Profiles

This section will help you to understand what are the Storage Provider profiles and how to manage them.

Topics

What is a Storage Provider Profile?​

A Storage Provider profile is a set of parameters that handle all the needed information to connect to the target storage provider. These parameters will hold the bucket/container name, the location, the Encryption Mode and the Encryption Keys to apply to the objects generated by the SAP backup and also the Storage Class to be used to use at REST.

You can have multiple profiles in your Backint configuration but only one can be set as the target for your backups and the same, or a different one, as the source to retrieve during restore processes.

So why creating multiples profiles? In some scenarios you may need to retrieve a backup from another system to recover from disaster scenario or to perform a System Copy.

Imagine that your SAP Server is down and you want to restore this server in another AWS Account to comply with your disaster recovery requirements. You will have a recover profile to retrieve the latest available backup from the primary server but start performing backups in a different storage to avoid overwriting the source backups.

Imagine also that you have a SAP Quality server, and you want to periodically restore backups from your production server. You can set the Quality bucket as the target for backups, but use the Production server profile to restore and refresh your database.

Below you can find an example on how Providers section will look like in the emory configuration file:

Expand to see an example

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Providers:
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production:
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Type: Azure
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Azure:
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AccountName: emoryaccount
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AccountKey: 9b59ddfef56b6f83e62b69cbb60ef008f73d621636bfe49310875b1428b3e302bf23b8b8399b1f190c9063a0a73f52b560c5ddf7901386f10115718e5ac61713df12285dfeb2185b4780e7fbc9ed27fb41ea441479013fa1ef28bf852e908a2020699312c80266d9ebb7b617b0445e5e1933511282dd
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ContainerName: emory-backups
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BufferSize: 83886080
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MaxBuffers: 30
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TierType: Cool
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develop:
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Type: AWS
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AWS:
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Region: eu-west-1
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Bucket: emory-backup-demo
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Encryption: AES256
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StorageClass: Standard
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Tagging: true
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MemoryBuffer: 83886080
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Concurrency: 30

Storage Profiles parameters​

AWS​

ParameterPossible ValuesDescription
RegionAny supported AWS Region (f.e. eu-west-1)All AWS regions are supported by Backint
BucketYour Amazon S3 bucket name
EncryptionAES256 or aws-kmsAES256: Default encryption key for the AWS Account, aws-kms: You want to use an Customer Managed Encryption Key
CustomerKey- leave empty if AES256 is selected - Customer Key name if aws-kms is selectedYour Customer Managed encryption Key
StorageClassStandard - Intelligent_Tiering - Standard_IA - OneZone_IA - Reduced_RedundancyAmazon S3 Object Storage Classes. More information in https://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes/
Taggingtrue or falseAdd backup information in the Amazon S3 Object
MemoryBuffervalue: 5MB - 512MBAWS Specific: Memory used for each parallel process in the backup execution
ConcurrencyDefault value: 5AWS Specific: Number of Amazon S3 threads that can work in parallel during backups

Azure​

ParameterPossible ValuesDescription
Storage accountAzure storage account nameAzure storage account name
Storage account keyAzure storage account key or blankAzure storage account key
ContainerYour Azure storage account container
Access tier classCool - Hot - ArchveAzure storage access tier class
Taggingtrue or falseAdd backup information in the Azure Storage Object
MemoryBuffervalue: 5MB - 512MBAzure Specific: Memory used for each parallel process in the backup execution
ConcurrencyDefault value: 5Azure Specific: Number of Azure storage threads that can work in parallel during backups

Google Cloud​

ParameterPossible ValuesDescription
Service Account Key Json FileGCloud Service Account Key fileIAM Service Account exported key file in json format
BucketGCloud Storage bucket name
Access tier classCool - Hot - ArchveAzure storage access tier class
Taggingtrue or falseAdd backup information in the Google Cloud Storage Object
MemoryBuffervalue: 5MB - 512MBGoogle Cloud Specific: Memory used for each parallel process in the backup execution
ConcurrencyDefault value: 5Google Cloud Specific: Number of Google Cloud threads that can work in parallel during backups

Memory consumption and maximum database size​

Depending on the number of Concurrency processes and the Memory Buffer set you can notice some performance degradation. Ensure that the values are correct for your server.

To estimate how much memory is needed you can use the CxLink Backup calculator.

Input parameters are:

  • Number of parallel processes to be used during backup
  • Memorybuffer size
  • Concurrency

And the tool will calculate:

  • Memory consumption
  • Maximum database size that can be saved with the parameters
Performance Issues

Depending on the number of Concurrency processes and the Memory Buffer set you can notice some performance degradation. Ensure that the values are correct for your server.

Estimation formula for memory consumption (this is just an example, you need to adjust the values to your server capacity) Total Memory used = Concurrency * MemoryBuffer

Encryption keys rotation​

Encryption keys rotation strategy for the storage profile configured has to be defined and executed by you following the corresponding provider documentation:

AWS KMS Keys rotation

Azure Storage Account Keys management

Manage Storage Profiles​

This section will guide you in the steps of creating, modifing and deleting Storage Profiles.

All the following actions will be managed from the Storage Providers profile section in the Interactive menu. To start it, execute the emory settings tool as SAP Database Administrator user


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/opt/emory/emory

and choose the Storage Providers profiles option:


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? Backint: Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Storage Providers profiles
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Set storage providers for backup/restore, disaster recovery and system copy
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Backups Lifecycle settings
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Monitoring
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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License
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Logging file settings
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Debug traces
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Show relevant information of this Backint
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Catalog & Backups management
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Generate troubleshooting package to be sent to Syntax Support
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Exit

Add/Edit a Storage Provider profile - interactive mode​

In this section you will be able to define the access to remote storage destination as well as its properties. We will use this providers profiles to store o retrieve our backups.Follow these steps to add a new Storage Provider profile for your backups:

  • Choose Add


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    ? Select action to perfom: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    > Add
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Back

  • Chooose a name for your provider profile (in this example, development):


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    ? Select action to perfom: Add
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    ? Enter provider profile name: development

  • Select your desired provider from the available list:


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    ?? Select provider: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    > AWS
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    Azure

  • Use AWS Profile. As described in the previous section, you can choose to use an EC2 Instance Service Role (Instance Profile) or an AWS Cli Named Profile to grant the proper permissions to the target Amazon S3 Bucket.

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AWS command line profile name: [? for help]

  • Choose a profile name from your AWS profiles file if you want to use an AWS CLI named profile instead of the EC2 instance Service Role.

  • Leave it empty or enter if you want to use EC2 Instance Role attached to the EC2 Instance

  • Use AssumeRole. You can store and retrieve your backups, or use different AWS KMS keys from a different AWS Account by assuming a role.


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? AssumeRole Arn: [? for help]

  • Choose corresponding role ARN if you want to assume a role to grant access to the target Amazon S3 Bucket.

  • Leave it empty if you want to use the inline permissions of the EC2 instance.

  • Select storage location Choose the AWS Region where your backups will be stored. The region of your Amazon S3 Bucket.

You can choose one from the list


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? AWS Region: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter, ? for more help]
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> eu-north-1
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ap-south-1
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eu-west-3
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eu-west-2
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eu-west-1
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ap-northeast-3
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ap-northeast-2
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ap-northeast-1
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sa-east-1
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ca-central-1

  • Select Bucket where your backups will be stored

    You can choose one from your backups list


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    ? AWS S3 Bucket name: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter, ? for more help]
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    > emory-backups-dev
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    emory-backups-prod

  • Choose encryption type

    Choose the encryption model that you want to use from your SAP Backups:

    • AES256 (default) (KMS-managed customer master key (CMK) of your AWS Account. Name: aws/s3)
    • aws:kms (AWS Key Management Service) Custom symmetrical CMK stored in KMS.
    • None. To not encrypting your backups, or to accept the default S3 Encryption option.

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    ? Encryption type: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter, ? for more help]
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    > AES256
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    aws:kms
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    none

  • Choose storage class for the backups

    Backint supports the following S3 storage classes. Choose the one that fits your requirements. More information in: https://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes/?nc1=h_ls


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    ? Choose storage class for the backups: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    > INTELLIGENT_TIERING
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    STANDARD
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    REDUCED_REDUNDANCY
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    GLACIER
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    STANDARD_IA
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    ONEZONE_IA
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    DEEP_ARCHIVE

  • Tag S3 Objects with backup information

    Backint can automatically add information to the Amazon S3 objects by adding tags. This information can help you later to manage your backups lifecycle or to identify specific backups. The information currently added in the object tags are:

    • backup_id - Unique identified generated by the SAP Database
    • backup_type - Full, Log, transaction, incremental, differential, etc..
    • start_date - Timestamp of the backup execution
    • lifecycle - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly... (See lifecycle section for additional information). D, W, Y, M
    • expiration_date - If you set the lifecycle policy, when the backup is supposed to be deleted.

  • S3 Downloader/Uploader MemoryBuffer - multipart_chunksize

  • S3 Downloader/Uploader Concurrency - max_concurrent_requests

S3 Configuration Settings */}

Add/Edit a Storage Provider profile - unnatended mode​


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/opt/emory/emory provider set <name> <type> <config_options>

List Storage Provider profiles - interactive mode​

  • Start the emory settings wizard and choose the Storage Providers profiles option:


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    ? Backint: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    > Storage Providers profiles
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    Set storage providers for backup/restore, disaster recovery and system copy
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    Backups Lifecycle settings
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    Monitoring
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    License
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Logging file settings
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    Debug traces
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    Show relevant information of this Backint
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Catalog & Backups management
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Generate troubleshooting package to be sent to Syntax Support
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Exit

  • A list of the existing profiles will be displayed:


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    ? Select action to perfom: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    > Add
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Edit : aws_dev_provider [AWS]
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    Delete : aws_dev_provider [AWS]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Edit : azure_dev_provider [Azure]
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    Delete : azure_dev_provider [Azure]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Back

Delete a Storage Provider profile - interactive mode​

  • Start the emory settings wizard and choose the Storage Providers profiles option:


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    ? Backint: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    > Storage Providers profiles
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    Set storage providers for backup/restore, disaster recovery and system copy
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    Backups Lifecycle settings
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    Monitoring
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    License
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Logging file settings
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    Debug traces
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    Show relevant information of this Backint
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Catalog & Backups management
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Generate troubleshooting package to be sent to Syntax Support
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Exit

  • Choose Delete option:


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    ? Select action to perfom: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Add
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    Edit : aws_dev_provider [AWS]
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    > Delete : aws_dev_provider [AWS]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Back

  • And confirm:


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    ? Select action to perfom: Delete : aws_dev_provider [AWS]
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    ? Really delete profile? (y/N)

Delete a Storage Provider profile - unnatended mode​


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/opt/emory/emory provider delete <profile_name>

Set Storage Providers for backups & restores​

This section will guide you through the steps to define the default Storage Provider profile for backups and restores.

  • Launch the emory wizard and choose the Set storage providers for backup/restore, disaster recovery and system copy:


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    ? Backint: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Storage Providers profiles
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    > Set storage providers for backup/restore, disaster recovery and system copy
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    Backups Lifecycle settings
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    Monitoring
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    License
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Logging file settings
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    Debug traces
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    Show relevant information of this Backint
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Catalog & Backups management
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Generate troubleshooting package to be sent to Syntax Support
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    Exit

  • Select Provider profile to store backups:


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    ? Select : [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    > Provider profile to store backups [default]
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    [DR scenarios] Provider profile to restore backups [ - None - ]
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    [System Copy] Provider profile to restore backups from different SID, System Copy method [ - None - ]
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    Back

  • And choose a defined provider profile from the list:


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    ? Select : Provider profile to store backups [default]
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    ? Select provider profile: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    > aws_dev_provider
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    aws_prod_provider
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    azure_dev_provider
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    None

tip

When you create your first new provider profile, it will be set as the provider profile to store backups by default.

Provider profile for restore backups - Disaster Recovery​

In some scenarios you may need to retrieve a backup from another system to recover from disaster scenario. To allow Backint to recover from a different system and storage, you will need to create a new Storage Provider profile with the source information.

info

If None is specified in this section, Backint will use the profile set in the Provider profile to store backups section to recover the database.

  • Select [DR scenarios] Provider profile to restore backups from the options:


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    ? Select : [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    Provider profile to store backups [ - None - ]
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    > [DR scenarios] Provider profile to restore backups [ - None - ]
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    [System Copy] Provider profile to restore backups from different SID, System Copy method [ - None - ]
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    Back

  • Select a provider profile from the list:


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    ? Select : [DR scenarios] Provider profile to restore backups [ - None - ]
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    ? Select provider profile: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    > aws_dev_provider
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    aws_prod_provider
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    azure_dev_provider
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    None

Provider profile for restore backups - System Copy​

In some scenarios you may need to retrieve a backup from another system to perform System Copies or to recover from a disaster scenario. To allow Backint to recover from a different system and storage, you will need to create a new Storage Provider profile with the source data.

Note: system copy is not available for all databases supported by Backint

tip

If None is specified in this section, Backint will use the profile set in the Provider profile to store backups section to recover the database.

  • Select [System Copy] Provider profile to restore backups from different SID, System Copy method from the options:


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    ? Select : [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    Provider profile to store backups [ - None - ]
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    [DR scenarios] Provider profile to restore backups [ - None - ]
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    > [System Copy] Provider profile to restore backups from different SID, System Copy method [ - None - ]
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    Back

  • Choose the profile that you want to use to store backups


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    ? Select : [System Copy] Provider profile to restore backups from different SID, System Copy method [ - None - ]
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    ? Select provider profile: [Use arrows to move, enter to select, type to filter]
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    > aws_dev_provider
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    aws_prod_provider
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    azure_dev_provider
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    None