Alation Analytics V2 Backup and Restore

Applies from release 2020.3

The Alation Analytics V2 database does not have built-in backup capabilities and is not backed up by the Alation application backup process. If an Alation instance is restored from a backup on a new host, the Alation Analytics V2 database for this instance has to be reinstalled and repopulated. The steps depend on how Alation Analytics V2 was installed: on the same host with Alation or on a separate host.

Restore a Same-Host Installation

Restoring an instance that had Alation Analytics V2 installed on the same host with the Alation catalog

When you restore an Alation backup on a new host, the restored Alation Analytics V2 data source will be orphaned and disconnected after the restore as the underlying Alation Analytics application and the database are not restored. You will need to reinstall the Alation Analytics V2 components on the host where you restored and reconnect the data source and the database.

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To restore Alation Analytics V2 after you have restored Alation from a backup:

  1. Log in to the restored Alation instance and go to Admin Settings > Server Admin > Alation Analytics.

  2. Download the Alation Analytics package, install it on the new Alation host, and perform the required configuration. For the installation steps, refer to Enable and Install Alation Analytics V2.

    Note

    You do need to enable the Alation Analytics V2 feature as it has already been enabled on the instance that was backed up and restored.

  3. As part of the installation, you will be asked to initiate the Alation Analytics database on the Alation Analytics settings page by clicking the Initiate Analytics Database button. This will return the Alation Analytics data source to the working state and begin the ETL process that will repopulate it on the restored instance.

Restore a Remote-Host Installation

Restoring an instance that had Alation Analytics V2 installed on a separate host

With Alation Analytics installed on a remote host, the Alation Analytics V2 components will remain available on the remote host even if the main instance becomes unavailable. After you restore the main instance, you will need to reconnect the Alation Analytics data source on the restored instance and the Alation Analytics database on the remote host and repopulate the data in the database. You do not need to reinstall the Alation Analytics components from scratch.

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To reconnect the Alation Analytics V2 data source after you have restored Alation from a backup:

  1. SSH to the Alation Analytics V2 host and go to the Alation Analytics V2 installation directory.

  2. Whitelist the IP of the new Alation host on the Alation Analytics V2 host by running the installer with the -i flag. Detailed instructions about whitelisting are available in the Alation Analytics V2 README file that can be found in the Alation Analytics V2 installation directory.

  3. Log in to the restored instance of the Alation catalog.

  4. Go to Admin Settings > Alation Analytics and locate the section Clear Data. We recommend reloading the Alation Analytics database after restoring the catalog from a backup to avoid any mismatch that may exist between the backup data and the actual data found in the remote Alation Analytics database.

  5. Click the Clear Data button. This action reconnects the restored Alation catalog and the remote Alation Analytics application and clears all data from the Alation Analytics database. After this action, the Alation Analytics V2 ETL process will reload the database from scratch. The ETL does not start automatically after this action and will be performed based on the current ETL schedule.

  6. To additionally validate the connection between the Alation Analytics data source after the restore and the remote Alation Analytics V2 database, open the settings page of the Alation Analytics V2 data source. Then under Test Connection, click Test to confirm connectivity to the database.