Restore from external backup (Performance Plan)

Prerequisites

Before starting the restore process, ensure you have the following:

• Access to your Db2 on Cloud console page
• At least one successful internal (snapshot) backup taken on the target instance before initiating external restore
• An existing DB2 backup stored in an IBM Cloud Object Storage or Amazon S3 bucket
• Your endpoint URL along with HMAC credentials (Access Key and Secret Access Key) to access the bucket and backup image
• Sufficient database storage space to accommodate the restored database

The internal backup is required as a safety measure. If the external restore fails, you can recover the database by restoring from the internal backup.

Create internal backup (Prerequisite)

1. Navigate to the External restore tab. If no internal backup exists, you will see a message indicating that an internal backup file is required.

   

2. Click Go to internal backup page or navigate to the Backups tab.

3. Click the Run backup button and confirm by clicking Run in the dialog.

   

4. Wait for the backup to complete. You can monitor the progress on the Backups page.

   

Access external restore

1. Once the internal backup is complete, navigate to the External restore tab.

2. Click the External restore button to begin the restore wizard.

   

Step 1: Connect external system

In the Connect step, provide the connection details for your external storage:

1. Select your endpoint type: Amazon S3 or IBM Cloud Object Storage.

2. Select Endpoint URL from the dropdown.

3. Enter your Access Key (HMAC access key ID).

4. Enter your Secret access key (HMAC secret access key).

5. Click Test connection to verify the credentials are correct.

6. Click Next to proceed.

   

Step 2: Select backup image

In the Select backup image step, browse and select your backup file:

1. Select your bucket from the dropdown.

2. Navigate through the folder path to locate your backup image file.

3. Select the backup image file (e.g., EUDB.0.eunicec.DBPART000.20251018182026).

4. Click Next to proceed to the confirmation step.

   

Step 3: Confirm

In the Confirm step, review your selections and configure restore options:

1. Choose whether to perform backup size validation or skip it. Backup size validation checks if your instance has sufficient storage space for the backup before starting the restore. Skipping validation will start the restore immediately, but it may fail mid-process if storage is insufficient.

   

2. Configure the rollforward option:

   • Rollforward to end of backup: Completes the restore and brings the database online.
   • Rollforward to end of logs: Keeps the database in a rollforward pending state, allowing you to apply additional logs later if needed. When you're ready to make the database available for connections, enable "Complete rollforward" to bring it online.

3. Click Start restore backup to start the external restore.

The database will be unavailable during the restore process. If you choose rollforward to end of logs without enabling "Complete rollforward", the database will remain offline until you manually complete the rollforward.

Monitor restore progress

Once the restore is initiated, you can monitor its progress on the External restore page. The view you see depends on your login type:

For IAM Admins

IAM administrators will see the restore history page where they can monitor the restore status. Use the Refresh button to update the status.

For User Logins

Regular users will see a full-screen progress page during the restore.

During the restore process, console functionality is limited for all users. Regular users are directed to the full-screen progress page, while IAM admins can view the restore history page to monitor status. Restore times can vary depending on the size of the backup and system conditions, and may take anywhere from several hours to a few days.

Complete rollforward

If you selected "Rollforward to end of logs" without enabling "Complete rollforward", the restore will finish in a "rollforward_pending" state:

1. Click the Rollforward button in the Available action column.

2. In the Rollforward dialog:

   • Enable Complete rollforward toggle to bring the database online after this rollforward.
   • Archive log location will be prefilled based on the selection in the previous external restore step. You can change the path if the new logs are in a different location.

3. Click Start rollforward to proceed.

   

4. The status will change to "rollforward_in_progress" and then "finalizing".

   

   

Verify completion

1. When the restore is complete, the status will show "Completed" with a green checkmark.

   

2. You can expand the restore entry to view the rollforward history, which shows details of each rollforward operation performed.

   

3. The database is now online and available for connections. The console will restore full functionality within a few minutes.

After the restore completes, it may take a few additional minutes for all console features to become fully available while the system completes post-restore setup tasks.

External restore failure

In case of an external restore failure, there are a couple of options to recover the system:

1. Initiate a different external restore: Click the External restore button to start a new restore. For example, if you previously selected a backup image that is not compatible with the system, you can initiate a new external restore with the correct backup image.

2. Reset from internal backup: Click the Reset from last internal backup option to restore from the internal backup you created earlier. This will reset the system to its state before the external restore was attempted.