Running Incremental Restores ​

This section lays out the steps and requirements for making use of incremental restore operations. Incremental restores reduce the time and resources required to maintain an up-to-date copy of a database that was originally created from a full restore.

Follow these steps:

1. Back up the source database with at least one full backup.

2. Restore the database with the same name on a separate DR cluster or with a different name on the same source cluster. Do not set --hot-standby off in the ybrestore command.

3. Leave the restored database in HOT_STANDBY state, which is the default state for a restore operation. Do not set the restored database to READONLY or set HOT_STANDBY to OFF.

4. Continue backing up the source database on a regular schedule, using cumulative or incremental backups. Keep track of the backup history by using the ybbackupctl --list command or running queries on the sys.log_backup view.

5. Periodically run incremental restores on the restored database. Make sure you specify the correct settings for the following options:

• --point: equivalent to the backup name in the ybbackup command
• --chain: the backup chain for the source database

The ybrestore command checks the restore point and only applies changes as needed.