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Backing Up an OVHcloud Managed PostgreSQL Database

Overview

This guide backs up an OVHcloud Managed PostgreSQL database using pg_dump streamed through Plakar to OVHcloud Object Storage. The result is an encrypted, deduplicated snapshot stored separately from your database infrastructure.

Architecture

flowchart TB subgraph Client["Backup Client"] PGDump["pg_dump"] Plakar["Plakar
stdin integration"] end subgraph DB["OVHcloud Managed PostgreSQL"] Postgres["PostgreSQL"] end subgraph Storage["OVHcloud S3 Object Storage"] S3["Kloset Store
(Encrypted & Deduplicated)"] end Postgres -->|SQL dump| PGDump PGDump -->|stdin| Plakar Plakar -->|Snapshots| S3 classDef client fill:#524cff,color:#ffffff classDef db fill:#ffe4e6 classDef storage fill:#dbeafe class PGDump,Plakar client class Postgres db class S3 storage

Prerequisites

  • OVHcloud account with billing configured
  • Plakar installed on backup client
  • PostgreSQL client tools (pg_dump)
  • OVHcloud Object Storage bucket configured

Create PostgreSQL Database

Provision database

  1. Log in to OVHcloud Control Panel
  2. Go to Public Cloud → Databases & Analytics → Databases
  3. Click Create a service
  4. Configure:
    • Database name
    • Engine: PostgreSQL
    • Version: 14-18 (OVHcloud supported)
    • Instance: Select vCores, memory, storage
    • Network: Public network
  5. Click Order

OVHcloud Databases Page Create PostgreSQL database

Create backup user

  1. Open PostgreSQL database in dashboard
  2. Go to Users tab
  3. Click Add user
  4. Configure:
    • Username: backup_user
    • Role: replication
  5. Save connection string

Create Backup User Create Backup User Create Backup User

Install Tools

Install PostgreSQL client:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql-client

Install Plakar using the installation guide.

Configure PostgreSQL Connection

Set environment variables from connection string:

export PGHOST=<DB_HOST>
export PGPORT=5432
export PGUSER=<DB_USER>
export PGPASSWORD=<DB_PASSWORD>

Test connection:

psql -X <DB_NAME>

Exit with \q.

Configure Object Storage

Install S3 integration

plakar login -email you@example.com
plakar pkg add s3

Create Object Storage bucket

If not already configured, follow: OVHcloud Object Storage setup

Add Kloset store

plakar store add ovhcloud-s3-postgres \
  location=s3://<S3_ENDPOINT>/<BUCKET_NAME> \
  access_key=<ACCESS_KEY> \
  secret_access_key=<SECRET_KEY> \
  use_tls=true

Replace:

  • <S3_ENDPOINT>: e.g., s3.eu-west-par.io.cloud.ovh.net
  • <BUCKET_NAME>: e.g., plakar-backups
  • <ACCESS_KEY> and <SECRET_KEY>: From OVHcloud Control Panel

Initialize store

plakar at "ovhcloud-s3-postgres" create

Back Up Database

Run backup:

pg_dump <DB_NAME> | plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-postgres" backup stdin:dump.sql

Verify:

plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-postgres" ls

Restore Database

Retrieve snapshot ID:

plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-postgres" ls

Restore:

plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-postgres" cat <SNAPSHOT_ID>:dump.sql | psql <DB_NAME>

Automate Backups

Create cron job for daily backups:

crontab -e

Add:

0 2 * * * pg_dump <DB_NAME> | plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-postgres" backup stdin:dump-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql

Troubleshooting

Connection refused

  • Verify PGHOST, PGPORT, PGUSER, PGPASSWORD environment variables
  • Check network access to managed database

Authentication failed

  • Confirm backup user has replication role
  • Verify password in connection string

S3 upload errors

  • Check S3 credentials: plakar store show ovhcloud-s3-postgres
  • Verify endpoint URL and bucket name
  • Confirm bucket exists in OVHcloud dashboard

pg_dump not found

  • Install PostgreSQL client: sudo apt install postgresql-client

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