Online Backup
The introduction of Online Backup in version 3.10.0 is designed to operate seamlessly. This feature maintains the same Backup and Restore Configurations as before.
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Online Backup is automatic, always active, and immutable in TigerGraph 3.10.x. Users cannot disable this feature. |
Introduction
Online Backup is a transformative feature that marks a departure from our previous offline backup system. Unlike the past, where write operations were blocked during most of the backup process, online backup ensures continuous data operations, even while a loading job is running. This shift brings significant advantages, reducing the blocking time for TigerGraph clusters and allowing users to perform backups concurrently with other operations.
Key Benefits
The primary advantage of online backup lies in the uninterrupted data operations it enables.
Consider a scenario where your TigerGraph database is actively serving user requests and, simultaneously, a backup needs to be performed.
In the past, this could lead to blocking write operations, causing timeouts and preventing users from upserting data. With online backup in place, users can seamlessly execute post requests via the REST API during the backup process. This means that even as critical operations continue, the database is concurrently backed up, ensuring continuous data availability and preventing the inability to upsert data to the database.
Summary of key benefits:
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Significant reduction in blocking time (See Benchmark Insights) for clusters, particularly in post request handling.
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Uninterrupted data operations.
Benchmark Insights
In tests conducted on a database of 100GB, we observed that the Graph Processing Engine (GPE) blocking time was dramatically reduced to a range of 4 to 8 seconds.
Given the standard post request timeout of 15 seconds, this improvement means the backup process will have minimal to no impact on your operations.
Picture a scenario where your database is undergoing a backup, and during this window, a user needs to perform upsert or write operations. The improved GPE blocking time ensures that these operations experience minimal delay, aligning with the standard post request timeout of 15 seconds. This improvement not only safeguards ongoing operations but also streamlines the backup process, delivering a seamless experience for users.