Restoring SAP HANA databases to an alternative instance

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You can restore an SAP HANA database to another SAP HANA instance on an alternative host. You can also choose to restore a database to an instance with a different name. This process creates an exact copy of the database on a different host in a different instance.

It is possible to restore the SAP HANA databases that are running in isolation level high to another SAP HANA instance on an alternative host. Additionally, you can choose to restore these databases to an instance with a different name. This process creates an exact copy of the database on a different host in a different instance. All restored databases are also running in isolation level high.

If you are restoring a resource to an alternative location, you can restore the same resource multiple times without specifying different target hosts.

Before you begin

Before you create a restore job for SAP HANA, ensure that the following requirements are met:

At least one SAP HANA backup job is set up and running successfully. For instructions about setting up a backup job, see Backing up SAP HANA data.
IBM Storage® Protect Plus roles and resource groups are assigned to the user who is setting up the restore job. For more information about assigning roles, see Managing user access.
When restoring from a IBM Storage Protect archive, files will be migrated to a staging pool from the tape prior to the job begins. Depending on the size of the restore, this process could take several hours.
The dedicated volumes with sufficient space must be allocated to the file system structure. SAP HANA must be at the same version level on the source and target hosts for all restore operations. For more information about space requirements, see Space requirements for SAP HANA protection. For more information about prerequisites and setup, see Prerequisites for SAP HANA.
Before you start a restore operation to an alternative instance, ensure that the file system structure on the source machine is matched on the target machine. This file system structure includes the data area that is defined by the configuration parameter basepath_datavolumes in the global.ini configuration file, which is in the persistence section of the target SAP HANA instance.

Important: Make sure that the tenant database operating system users and groups exist on the target system and have the same user ID (UID) and group ID (GID) when restoring SAP HANA databases that are running in isolation level high. The only exception is the SYSTEMDB, which belongs to the SAP HANA instance owner. It can have a different name and group with different UID and GID on the target system.

Restriction: If data exists on the data area which is defined by the configuration parameter basepath_datavolumes to which you are restoring the database backup to, and the Overwrite existing databases option is not selected, the restore operation fails. When the Overwrite existing databases option is selected, any existing data is removed from the data area which is defined by the configuration parameter basepath_datavolumes on the alternative host.

Procedure

In the navigation panel, expand Manage Protection > Databases > SAP HANA and click Create job > Restore.
The Restore wizard opens.
Optional: If you started the restore wizard from the Jobs and Operations page, click SAP HANA as the source type and click Next.
Tips:
- For a running summary of your selections in the wizard, click Preview Restore in the navigation panel in the wizard.
- The wizard is opened in the default setup mode. To run the wizard in advanced setup mode, select Advanced Setup. With advanced setup mode, you can set more options for your restore job.
On the Select source page, click a SAP HANA instance to show the databases in that instance. Click the plus icon next to the database that you want to use as the source of the restore operation. You can select more than one database from the list.

The selected sources are added to the restore list next to the database list. To remove an item from the list source, click the minus icon next to the item.
Click Next to continue.
In the Source snapshot page, choose the type of restore operation required.
- On-Demand: Snapshot: creates a once-off restore operation from a database snapshot. The job is not set to recur.
- On-Demand: Point-in-Time: creates a once-off restore operation to recover the database state that existed at a specific date and time. The job is not set to recur.
- Recurring: creates a recurring job that runs on a schedule and repeats.
Tip: For an On-Demand: Snapshot, you can select no recovery or to recover until the end of the backup. For an On-Demand: Point in Time restore job, you can select to recover until a specific point-in-time.

Complete the fields on the Source snapshot page and click Next to continue.

The fields that are shown depend on the number of items that were selected on the Select source page and on the restore type. Some fields are also not shown until you select a related field.

Fields that are shown for an on-demand snapshot, single resource restore

Option	Description
Date range	Specify a range of dates to show the available snapshots within that range.
Backup storage type	All backups in the selected date range are listed in rows that show the time that the backup operation occurred and the service level agreement (SLA) policy for the backup. Select the row that contains the backup time and SLA policy that you want, and then take one of the following actions: Click the backup storage type that you want to restore from. The storage types that are shown depend on the types available in your environment and are shown in the following order: Backup Restores data that is backed up to a vSnap server. Replication Restores data that is replicated to a vSnap server. Object Storage Restores data that is copied to a cloud service or to a repository server. Archive Restores data that is copied to a cloud service archive or to a repository server archive (tape). Click anywhere on the row. The first backup type that is shown sequentially from the left of the row is selected by default. For example, if the storage types Backup, Replication, and Archive are shown, Backup is selected by default.
Use alternate vSnap server for the restore job	If you are restoring data from a cloud service or a repository server, select this box to specify an alternative vSnap server, and then select a server from the Select alternate vSnap menu. When you restore data from a restore point that was copied to a cloud resource or repository server, a vSnap server is used as a gateway to complete the operation. By default, the vSnap server that is used to complete the restore operation is the same vSnap server that is used to complete the backup and copy operations. To reduce the load on the vSnap server, you can select an alternative vSnap server to serve as the gateway.

Fields that are shown for an on-demand snapshot, multiple resources restore; or recurring restore. For point-in-time restore, only Site is available for Restore Location Type.

Option	Description
Restore Location Type	Select a type of location from which to restore data: Site The site to which snapshots were backed up. The site is defined in the System Configuration > Storage > Sites pane. Cloud service copy The cloud service to which snapshots were copied. The cloud service is defined in the System Configuration > Storage > Cloud storage pane. Repository server copy The repository server to which snapshots were copied. The repository server is defined in the System Configuration > Storage > Repository servers pane. Cloud service archive The cloud archive service to which snapshots were copied. The cloud service is defined in the System Configuration > Storage > Cloud storage pane. Repository server archive The repository server to which snapshots were copied to tape. The repository server is defined in the System Configuration > Storage > Repository servers pane.
Select a location	If you are restoring data from a site, select one of the following restore locations: Primary The primary site from which to restore snapshots. Secondary The secondary site from which to restore snapshots. If you are restoring data from a cloud or repository server, select a server from the Select a location menu.
Date selector	For on-demand restore operations, specify a range of dates to show the available snapshots within that range.
Restore Point	For on-demand restore operations, select a snapshot from the list of available snapshots in the selected date range.
Use alternate vSnap server for the restore job	If you are restoring data from a cloud service or a repository server, select this box to specify an alternative vSnap server, and then select a server from the Select alternate vSnap menu. When you restore data from a restore point that was copied to a cloud service or repository server, a vSnap server is used as a gateway to complete the operation. By default, the vSnap server that is used to complete the restore operation is the same vSnap server that is used to complete the backup and copy operations. To reduce the load on the vSnap server, you can select an alternative vSnap server to serve as the gateway.

Choose a restore method appropriate for the destination chosen for the restore operation. Click Next to continue.
- Instant Access: In this mode, no further action is taken after IBM Storage Protect Plus mounts the volume from the vSnap repository. Use the data for custom recovery from the files in the mounted volume.
- Production: In this mode, the SAP HANA application agent first copies the files from the vSnap repository volume to the target host, which is either an alternative location or the original instance. That copied data is then used to start the database.
- Test: In this mode, the agent creates a new database by using the data files directly from the vSnap repository.
Set the destination for the restore operation to Restore to alternate instance to restore data to a different location, which you can select from the list of eligible locations. Click Next to continue.

When you are restoring to an alternative location, choose an instance in the Instance table before you click Next. Unsuitable target instances cannot be selected.
Choose options as described in Restoring SAP HANA data.
In the Schedule page, name the restore job and choose the frequency for the job to run. Schedule the start time, and click Next to continue.

If the restore job you are specifying is an on-demand job, there is no option to enter a schedule. Specify a schedule only for recurrent restore jobs.
In the Review page, review your selections for the restore job. If all the details are correct for your restore job, click Submit, or click Back to make amendments.

Results

A few moments after you click Submit, the onDemandRestore record is added to the Job Sessions pane. To view progress of the restore operation, expand the job. You can also download the log file by clicking the download icon the add to restore list icon . All running jobs are viewable in the Jobs and Operations Running Jobs page.