Creating an Instance

Agents automatically discover hosts, instances, instance objects, and other components installed on the server and create them in the web application. You can configure the automatic discovery in the ppem-agent.yml agent configuration file.

PPEM provides the following ways of creating instances:

Viewing Instances

In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

The table of instances with the following columns will be displayed:

Checking the Consistency of an Instance Catalog

The catalog consistency check ensures that the main instance files were not damaged during storage.

To check the consistency of an instance catalog:

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. Click Run.

Stopping and Starting an Instance

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click or next to the instance.

3. To stop an instance, click Stop.

Restarting an Instance

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. Click Restart.

Creating a Backup

For more information about backups, refer to Backup.

To create a backup:

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. Enter parameters of the new backup (parameters marked with an asterisk are required):

   • Instance: The instance for which the backup will be created.

     The value is entered automatically.

   • Copy storage: The storage where the backup will be located.

     You can select a local or S3 storage. The local storage must be located on the same server as the instance for which you are creating the backup.

   • User and Password: The name and password of the DBMS user under which the backup will be performed.

   • Database: The database for connecting to the instance.

   • Backup mode: The backup creation mode.

     Possible values:

     • full

     • page

     • ptrack

     • delta

     For more information about backup modes, refer to the official Postgres Pro documentation on pg_probackup.

   • Threads count: The number of parallel threads that will be started at backup creation.

   • Waiting time (sec): The waiting timeout in seconds for WAL segment archiving and streaming.

   • Create a stand-alone backup: Specifies whether to create a streaming backup that includes the WAL records required for restoring the instance later.

   • Replication slot: The replication slot that will be used for transferring WAL records.

   • Create temporary replication slot: Specifies whether to create a temporary replication slot for transferring WAL records of the instance for which you are creating the backup.

     If you enable this checkbox, WAL segments are available even when they are switched at backup creation.

4. Click Next, and then specify additional parameters if required:

   • External catalogs: The path to the instance catalog that will also be included in the backup.

   • include log catalog: Specifies whether the backup includes the catalog with the instance activity logs.

   • Don’t check copy: Specifies whether to skip the automatic verification of the created backup.

     If you enable this checkbox, the backup is created faster.

   • Smooth execution of the checkpoint: Specifies whether backup creation starts only after the scheduled checkpoint.

   • Disable block-level verification: Specifies whether to disable the block-level checksum verification for faster consistency checking at backup creation.

   • Compression level: The file compression level at backup creation.

     You can enter a value from 0 to 9, where 0 disables file compression, and 9 enables the highest file compression level.

   • Compression algorithm: The algorithm used for compressing files.

     Possible values:

     • zlib

     • lz4

     • zstd

     • pglz

     This parameter is available only if you enter a value greater than 0 in Compression level.

   • Pinning: The pinning parameters of the backup.

     Possible values:

     • Do not pin: Do not pin the backup.

       If you select this value, the parameters specified in Parameters of storing are used.

     • ttl: After the backup is created, it cannot be deleted from a storage during the specified number of days.

       For this value, in Retention period, days, enter the number of days.

     • expire-time: The backup cannot be deleted from a storage until the specified date and time.

       For this value, in Retention period until, specify the date and time.

   • Storage parameters: The backup storage parameters of the storage catalog created for the instance.

     Available parameters:

     • Retention redundancy: The maximum number of full backups.

       For example, if you specify 3, the catalog can contain a maximum of three full backups.

       To disable this limitation, specify 0. In this case, the number of backups in the catalog is not limited.

     • Retention window: The number of days (24 hours) covered by backups. For example, if you specify 7, the catalog must always contain backups required for restoring the data for the last seven days, including today.

       To disable this limitation, specify 0. In this case, backups can be deleted from the catalog at any moment.

     • WAL depth: The minimum number of backups on each timeline. Having backups on all timelines is required for point-in-time recovery (PITR).

       For example, if you specify 3, the catalog must always contain at least three backups on each timeline.

       To disable this limitation, specify 0. In this case, point-in-time recovery is not available.

     • Expired copies: The management policy for expired backups.

       Possible values:

       • Merge: Merge expired backups with new ones if possible.

       • Delete: Delete expired backups from the catalog.

       • Remove expired WAL: Delete WAL of expired backups from the catalog.

       You can enable all checkboxes simultaneously.

     Retention redundancy, Retention window, and WAL depth are applied only if you enable Merge and/or Delete for Expired copies.

     The values of Retention redundancy and Retention window are considered simultaneously when deleting expired backups from the catalog. For example, if you enter 3 in Retention redundancy and 7 in Retention window, a maximum of three full backups are saved, as well as all backups required for restoring the data for the past 7 days, including today.

     You can also configure storage parameters for an instance, as well as for a storage when creating or editing it.

     The following priority is applied:

     • backup parameters are applied first

     • instance parameters are applied second

     • storage parameters are applied third

     For more information about storage parameters, refer to the official Postgres Pro documentation on pg_probackup.

5. Click Execute backup.

Applying a Configuration Preset to an Instance

You can apply another configuration preset to an instance.

To apply a configuration preset to an instance:

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. Select a new configuration preset.

4. Click Apply.

Editing an Instance

You can select the repository instance when editing an instance.

To edit an instance:

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. Edit instance parameters.

4. Click Save.

Selecting a Repository Instance

The repository database is located in an instance. Similarly to other instances, you can create this instance in the web application.

In the web application, you must manually specify the instance where the repository database is located.

To select the repository instance:

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. Enable Instance of EM repository.

4. Click Save.

Deleting an Instance

To delete an instance:

1. In the navigation panel, go to Infrastructure → Instances.

2. Click next to the instance.

3. (Optional) To delete the main instance data catalog on the server, enable Delete with data directory.

4. Confirm the operation and click Delete.