Using snapshop of confluence instance from postgres DB that is newer

[Dovid Bender]

Hi,

A client has an instance that had an issue and they want to go back a few days. We are using AWS and have daily snapshots of the system. We are using Postgres on AWS RDS as well.  Say the last working snapshot was taken at 2019-04-15 at 01:00 and users made changes, updates etc. on 219-04-15 at 09:00 (created pages, uploaded files etc.) will that work or do I need to use a database snapshot form before the snapshot of the system? I know that the pages are stored in Postgres. I am just wondering if there any files or anything else that are stored on the machine its self that can make an issue?

TIA.

[Stephen Sifers · Accepted solution]

Hello Dovid,

Having snapshots and database backups are always a great practice, very glad to hear you have them in place for Confluence. When restoring Confluence to a previous point in time there are a few things to consider. First, you want to ensure the database backups you have are good a valid before you restore the file system itself. Secondly, you want to ensure the snapshot you have to revert are aligned with your database backups (If you Database application is on another host from your Confluence server).

When restoring Confluence you need to ensure your Application Directory and Database are in alignment. If you restore a file system snapshot that is out of alignment from the database you run the risk of losing file attachments within the system to include versions.

In theory, you should be able to roll your Confluence back to a snapshot version and restore the database and all should be well. In practice, you should always test these types of abrupt changes within a staging or developer instance to avoid data loss or interruption to production. With every server version of the Atlassian products, you are provided with a developer license to use for staging or development. More about this may be found at Create a staging environment for upgrading Confluence.

More along this is the KB about Confluence backups and restoring. While it is not the most exciting read, it is suggested to review this when implementing and testing your recovery process (such as you’re doing now). More about this may be found at Site Backup and Restore.

I hope this proves helpful and you’re able to test and restore your Confluence instance without issue.

Regards,
Stephen Sifers

[Dovid Bender]

@Stephen Sifers So in theory the only thing I risk if use a snapshot that is from BEFORE the DB snapshot is files uploaded?

[Stephen Sifers]

Hello, again Dovid,

You're correct in that file attachments to pages may be at risk if the database backup is not in sync with the snapshot completion time.

You should also ensure you test this before "testing in production" to avoid any actual data loss or downtime.

Regards,
Stephen Sifers