Backing Up an OVHcloud Managed PostgreSQL Database

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

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

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

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