Note: This post contains references to the term slave, a term that Microsoft no longer uses. When the term is removed from the software, we'll remove it from this post.
Together with key investments focused on improving the overall product experience, the August 2022 release of Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server provides two major capabilities:
- On-demand backups
- Server logs
This blog post includes additional details about these new capabilities and the August 2022 release.
On-demand backup
Backup and restore is the cornerstone of the business continuity and disaster recovery offering in Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server. The new On-demand backup feature provides enhanced flexibility for users when maintaining backups of business-critical data.
Now, in addition to the automated backup functionality the service already provides, customers can initiate on-demand backups of their production workloads and store the related files according to the backup retention policy configured on the server.
Triggering an on-demand backup
To trigger an on-demand backup, perform the following steps.
1. In the Azure portal, locate your flexible server and then under Settings, select Backup and restore.
2. On the Backup and restore page, select Backup now.
The Take backup dialog box appears, with the Backup name and Retention period in days fields prepopulated.
3. Select Trigger to start the backup.
Note: The portal supports triggering up to a total of 50 on-demand backups per server.
Tracking the progress of an on-demand backup
As soon as you start the on-demand backup, you can begin viewing and tracking its progress on the View Available Backups page. The status In-progress displays until the snapshot is ready, and then the status changes to Completed.
Restoring from an on-demand backup
Customers can use on-demand backups to restore their applications and address business continuity or auditing requirements. To view all the completed on-demand backups and initiate recovery using the Restore action, perform the following steps.
1. In the Azure portal, on the page for your flexible server, under Settings, select Backup and restore.
2. On the Backup and restore page, select Restore to display the Point-in-time-restore (PITR) experience.
3. Use the Select fastest restore point option to choose a specific on-demand backup snapshot.
Server logs
In Azure Database for MySQL Server - Flexible Server, users can configure and download server logs to assist with troubleshooting efforts. With this feature enabled, a flexible server starts capturing events of the selected log type and writes them to a file.
You can then use the Azure portal or the Azure CLI to download the files so that you can work with them. The server logs feature is disabled by default.
Enabling and downloading server logs
To enable and download server logs, perform the following steps.
1. In the Azure portal, on the page for your flexible server, under Monitoring, select Server logs.
2. To enable server logs, select the Enable checkbox.
3. Under Select logs to enable, select the appropriate checkbox, and then select Save.
4. To download a server log file, to the right of the file name, select Download.
Note: To download multiple log files, select the files, and then, on the command bar, select Download.
Note: For more information about working with server logs, see Enable, list, and download server logs. To work with server logs using the Azure CLI, see List and download server logs using the Azure CLI.
Other enhancements
Customers will also benefit from some of the other improvements we've made in the latest release of Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server.
Configurable server parameters
Users can now configure the following key server parameters.
- lc_time_names: Specifies the locale that controls the language used to display day and month names, as well as abbreviations.
- replicate_wild_ignore_table: Creates a replication filter that keeps the replication SQL thread from replicating a statement in which any table matches the given wildcard pattern. This server parameter is editable for the Data in-replication scenario.
- slave_parallel_workers: Enables multithreading on the replica and sets the number of applier threads for executing replication transactions in parallel.
- log_output: Enables the Server log feature and starts writing server logs to files, when the value of the parameter is set to FILE.
Users can also edit these additional server parameters:
- slave_pending_jobs_size_max
- performance_schema_max_digest_length
- performance_schema_max_sql_text_length
Business Critical tier support for the Ev5 compute series
The Business Critical tier for Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server now supports the Ev5 compute series in more regions. Azure Database for MySQL flexible servers based on the Business-Critical tier with Ev5 show outstanding performance, with up to 30% more QPS (queries per second) and 50% lower latency when compared to Ev4.
For more information, see Boost Azure MySQL Business Critical flexible server performance by 30% with the Ev5 compute series!
Summary
The Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server team is committed to delivering features and enhancements for our service that address user needs, enhance the user experience, and provide added value.
Backup and restore is an essential component of an effective disaster recovery and business continuity strategy, one on which most organizations rely. With the introduction of on-demand backups in Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server, customers have multiple options for creating backups of their production workloads, providing greater flexibility.
By using this functionality along with the existing PITR experience, customers have more predictable and faster restore times based on the size of the database.
In addition, you can now enable and download server logs for your Azure Database for MySQL flexible server, which offers greater flexibility when troubleshooting or seeking additional insights into server performance.
If you have any feedback or questions about the information provided above, please leave a comment below or email us at AskAzureDBforMySQL@service.microsoft.com. Thank you!
