Backup and restore in GCP - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes data can be lost or damaged. Backup and restore help you save a copy of your data and bring it back if needed. This keeps your information safe and available.

When you want to save a copy of your database before making big changes.

When you need to recover data after accidental deletion or corruption.

When you want to move data from one project or region to another.

When you want to keep historical copies of your data for compliance.

When you want to test restoring data to ensure your backup works.

Commands

This command creates a backup of your Cloud SQL instance named 'my-instance'. It saves the current state of your database.

Terminal

gcloud sql backups create --instance=my-instance

Expected Output

Created backup [backup-id] for instance [my-instance].

→

--instance - Specifies the Cloud SQL instance to back up.

This command lists all backups for the 'my-instance' database. It helps you see available backups to restore from.

Terminal

gcloud sql backups list --instance=my-instance

Expected Output

ID          STATUS    ENQUEUED_TIME          START_TIME            END_TIME

backup-id   SUCCESS   2024-06-01T10:00:00Z   2024-06-01T10:05:00Z  2024-06-01T10:10:00Z

→

--instance - Specifies the Cloud SQL instance to list backups for.

This command restores the 'my-instance' database from the backup with ID 'backup-id'. It replaces the current data with the backup data.

Terminal

gcloud sql backups restore backup-id --instance=my-instance

Expected Output

Restoring backup [backup-id] to instance [my-instance].

Restore operation started.

→

--instance - Specifies the Cloud SQL instance to restore the backup to.

This command shows the status of ongoing operations like restore. It helps you check when the restore finishes.

Terminal

gcloud sql operations list --instance=my-instance

Expected Output

ID          TYPE     STATUS    START_TIME            END_TIME

operation-1 RESTORE  RUNNING   2024-06-01T10:15:00Z  

→

--instance - Specifies the Cloud SQL instance to check operations for.

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: always create backups before changes and verify restore success to protect your data.

Common Mistakes

Trying to restore from a backup ID that does not exist.

The restore command will fail because it cannot find the specified backup.

List backups first with 'gcloud sql backups list' and use a valid backup ID.

Not waiting for the restore operation to complete before using the database.

The database may be in an inconsistent state or unavailable during restore.

Check operation status with 'gcloud sql operations list' and wait until it shows success.

Not specifying the correct instance name in commands.

Commands will target the wrong instance or fail if the instance does not exist.

Always use the exact instance name with the --instance flag.

Summary

Use 'gcloud sql backups create' to save a backup of your Cloud SQL instance.

List backups with 'gcloud sql backups list' to find the backup ID you want to restore.

Restore your database using 'gcloud sql backups restore' with the backup ID and instance name.

Check restore progress with 'gcloud sql operations list' to ensure completion.