--- title: "ABS configuration file examples" description: "Examples and parameter guides for configuring the Aerospike Backup Service (ABS) using YAML." --- # ABS configuration file examples > For the complete documentation index see: [llms.txt](https://aerospike.com/docs/llms.txt) > > All documentation pages available in markdown. This page explains the sections of an example Aerospike Backup Service (ABS) configuration file, illustrating the basic requirements for a backup configuration. Aerospike publishes a [JSON schema for this configuration file](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aerospike/aerospike-backup-service/refs/tags/v3.3.1/docs/config.schema.json) that enables autocomplete and validation in the VSCode and IntelliJ editors. View full configuration file ```yaml # yaml-language-server: $schema=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aerospike/aerospike-backup-service/refs/tags/v3.3.1/docs/config.schema.json aerospike-clusters: abs-cluster: # <--- Custom user-defined cluster name seed-nodes: - host-name: localhost port: 3000 credentials: user: tester password: secrets:cluster-creds:password # Secret Agent path secret-agent-name: secret-agent # <--- Refers to the secret agent name under secret-agents secret-agents: secret-agent: # <--- Custom user-defined secret agent name address: localhost port: 5000 connection-type: tcp storage: s3: # <--- Custom user-defined storage name s3-storage: # Storage type; can be one of "local-storage", "s3-storage", "azure-storage", "gcp-storage" path: backups bucket: as-backup-bucket s3-region: eu-central-1 min-part-size: 5_242_880 # Minimum upload chunk size in bytes backup-policies: dailyBackupPolicy: # <--- Custom user-defined policy name parallel: 8 # Parallelism level (May affect performance) parallel-write: 8 # Write parallelism level (May affect performance) file-limit: 1000 # Max backup file size in MB (May affect performance) compression: # Backup files will be compressed before uploading (May affect performance) mode: ZSTD level: 3 concurrent-incremental: false with-cluster-configuration: false retention: full: 10 # Retain 10 full backups incremental: 5 # Retain incremental backups for the 5 latest full backups backup-routines: dailyLocalBackupRoutine: # <--- Custom routine name interval-cron: "@daily" # Full backup will be triggered daily at midnight incr-interval-cron: "0 */2 * * * *" # Incremental backups every 2 hours source-cluster: abs-cluster # <--- Refers to the cluster name under aerospike-clusters storage: s3 # <--- Refers to the storage name under storage backup-policy: dailyBackupPolicy # <--- Refers to the policy name under backup-policies namespaces: ["test"] # <--- Required field; use [] to back up the whole cluster ``` ## Configuration file components ### `aerospike-clusters` This example configuration connects to the Aerospike Database cluster named `abs-cluster`. The `seed-nodes` parameter defines the host and port for the Aerospike cluster on the network. The `credentials` parameter passes a plaintext username and a reference to a password stored in the Secret Agent. You can also use a plaintext username and password without the Secret Agent reference for testing purposes. If a credential value starts with `secrets:`, ABS treats it as a Secret Agent reference in the format `secrets:RESOURCE_LABEL:KEY`. For path syntax examples, see [Secret usage with backup and restore](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/tools/backup-and-restore/absctl/secrets). Configure Secret Agent connections for ABS in the [`secret-agents`](#secret-agents) section. The middle segment is a Secret Agent resource label you define when storing secrets in the agent. ::: note ABS does not support directly passing a Kubernetes Secret. ::: #### `max-parallel-scans` `max-parallel-scans` sets a per-cluster limit on the number of concurrent scans across all routines. ```yaml aerospike-clusters: abs-cluster: max-parallel-scans: 4 ``` ### `secret-agents` The `secret-agents` section defines one or more connections to the [Aerospike Secret Agent](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/manage/security/secrets/#connecting-to-aerospike-secret-agent). ```yaml secret-agents: secret-agent: # <--- Custom user-defined secret agent name address: localhost port: 5000 connection-type: tcp ``` To verify the Secret Agent’s TLS certificate, set `tls-ca-file` to the path of a trusted CA certificate in PEM format: ```yaml secret-agents: secure-agent: address: secret-agent.example.com port: 3005 connection-type: tcp tls-ca-file: /etc/ssl/certs/ca.pem # CA certificate to verify the server ``` ::: note ABS 3.3.x checks only that `tls-ca-file`, if set, points to a file that exists on disk. It does not support mutual TLS for `secret-agents` connections in this version. The strict, all-or-nothing TLS validation applies to Aerospike cluster connections configured under `aerospike-clusters.CLUSTER_NAME.tls`, not to `secret-agents`. That validation requires `name`, `key-file`, and `cert-file` together, and can fail service startup if the settings are incomplete or inconsistent. ::: ### `storage` The `storage` section sets up four different storage destinations: local, S3, Azure, and GCP. Each one has a separate label, here `storage1`, `storage2`, and so on. You can set up as many or as few destinations as you want in your own configuration. Note the specific authentication requirements for the different cloud storage providers. You can set an object storage class on S3, Azure, and GCP destinations. Use `storage-class.data` to choose the durability and availability tier for backup data, and `storage-class.metadata` (S3 and Azure only) for the tier used to store backup metadata. Each provider accepts a smaller set of `metadata` values than `data` values: - S3 `data`: `STANDARD`, `GLACIER`, `STANDARD_IA`, `ONEZONE_IA`, `INTELLIGENT_TIERING`, `DEEP_ARCHIVE`, `OUTPOSTS`, `GLACIER_IR`, `SNOW`, `EXPRESS_ONEZONE` - S3 `metadata`: `STANDARD`, `STANDARD_IA`, `INTELLIGENT_TIERING`, `EXPRESS_ONEZONE`, `ONEZONE_IA`, `OUTPOSTS` - Azure Blob Storage `data`: `Hot`, `Cool`, `Cold`, `Archive` - Azure Blob Storage `metadata`: `Hot`, `Cool`, `Cold` - Google Cloud Storage `data`: `STANDARD`, `NEARLINE`, `COLDLINE`, `ARCHIVE`. GCP has no separate `metadata` tier. ABS always stores GCP metadata as `STANDARD`. ```yaml storage: s3: # <--- Custom user-defined storage name s3-storage: # Storage type; can be one of "local-storage", "s3-storage", "azure-storage", "gcp-storage" path: backups bucket: as-backup-bucket s3-region: eu-central-1 min-part-size: 5_242_880 # Minimum upload chunk size in bytes ``` Additional storage examples: ```yaml storage: # Example 1: Local Storage storage1: local-storage: path: /local/backups # Example 2: S3 Storage storage2: s3-storage: bucket: my-backup-bucket path: backups s3-profile: default s3-region: eu-central-1 storage-class: data: STANDARD metadata: STANDARD # Example 3: Azure Storage storage3: azure-storage: account-name: my-storage-account account-key: my-secret-key container-name: my-container endpoint: 'https://my-storage-account.blob.core.windows.net' path: backups min-part-size: 5_242_880 # Minimum upload chunk size in bytes storage-class: data: Hot metadata: Hot # Example 4: GCP Storage storage4: gcp-storage: bucket-name: my-gcp-bucket key-file-path: /path/to/service-account-key.json endpoint: 'https://storage.googleapis.com' path: backups min-part-size: 5_242_880 # Minimum upload chunk size in bytes storage-class: data: STANDARD ``` ### `backup-policies` A backup policy is a set of parameters that define how to perform a backup. You can create many different policies, then schedule each to run at different times or under different circumstances. The following example defines a policy called `dailyBackupPolicy`, which is later scheduled to run daily in the `backup-routines` section. With `parallel`, it specifies the number of parallel reader threads that read Aerospike partitions. With `parallel-write`, you can set the number of threads that write backup files independently of `parallel`. If you omit `parallel-write`, it defaults to the same value as `parallel`. You can also specify the size of each backup file with `file-limit` in MB, as well as a compression algorithm and compression level with `compression`. Set `concurrent-incremental: true` to allow incremental backups to run alongside a full backup of the same routine. The default is `false`, which skips incremental backups while another backup for that routine is in progress. Set `with-cluster-configuration: true` to include cluster configuration in the backup. The default is `false`. In the `retention` section, this example specifies that the previous 10 full backups are retained in storage, in addition to any incremental backups made during the last 5 full backups. ```yaml backup-policies: dailyBackupPolicy: # <--- Custom user-defined policy name parallel: 8 # Parallelism level (May affect performance) parallel-write: 8 # Write parallelism level (May affect performance) file-limit: 1000 # Max backup file size in MB (May affect performance) compression: # Backup files will be compressed before uploading (May affect performance) mode: ZSTD level: 3 concurrent-incremental: false with-cluster-configuration: false retention: full: 10 # Retain 10 full backups incremental: 5 # Retain incremental backups for the 5 latest full backups ``` ### `backup-routines` The `backup-routines` section schedules one or more routines to run from specified sources at specified intervals. In this example, the routine `dailyLocalBackupRoutine` backs up the `test` namespace from source cluster `abs-cluster` to the storage destination `s3`, following the rules defined in `dailyBackupPolicy`. This routine performs full and incremental backups based on cron intervals. It performs an incremental backup every two hours and a full backup each day at midnight (UTC+0). ::: note All cron times are in the UTC+0 time zone. ABS does not support converting between time zones. ::: ```yaml backup-routines: dailyLocalBackupRoutine: # <--- Custom routine name interval-cron: "@daily" # Full backup will be triggered daily at midnight incr-interval-cron: "0 */2 * * * *" # Incremental backups every 2 hours source-cluster: abs-cluster # <--- Refers to the cluster name under aerospike-clusters storage: s3 # <--- Refers to the storage name under storage backup-policy: dailyBackupPolicy # <--- Refers to the policy name under backup-policies namespaces: ["test"] # <--- Required field; use [] to back up the whole cluster ``` #### `node-list` Set `node-list` on a routine to back up partitions whose master is on one of the listed nodes when the job starts. Each node can be an IP address, hostname, or node ID with port. See [`node-list`](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/tools/backup-and-restore/backup-service/config#backup-routines.ROUTINE_NAME.node-list) in the configuration reference. Each routine with `node-list` is potentially partial: assign non-overlapping node slices across parallel ABS instances so together they cover every partition you intend to back up. See [Parallel backups](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/tools/backup-and-restore/backup-service/3.3.x/parallel-backup). `node-list` is mutually exclusive with `partition-list`. :::caution Topology changes during backup When the job starts, ABS resolves primary (master) partitions for the listed nodes and scans that fixed partition set. If partition ownership changes during a long backup, scans can read from the current master for a selected partition, which may be on a different node than when the job started. If a partition’s master migrates onto a listed node after the job starts, that partition was not in the initial slice and is not included in that routine’s backup. ::: #### `prefer-racks` :::caution Data-completeness risk in this version ABS 3.3.x wires `prefer-racks` through the same hard-filter mechanism as [`node-list`](#node-list). Setting `prefer-racks` restricts the backup to only the nodes in the listed racks, producing a **partial backup**, not the full backup this section previously described. If you ran ABS 3.3.0 or 3.3.1 with `prefer-racks` set, verify whether your backups covered the full namespace or only the listed racks. This was fixed in ABS 3.4.0, which implements `prefer-racks` as a true read preference so backups stay complete, and relocates the parameter to `aerospike-clusters.CLUSTER_NAME.prefer-racks`. ::: Set `prefer-racks` on a backup routine to list Aerospike rack IDs. ABS resolves the current nodes for each listed rack and restricts the backup scan to only those nodes, the same way [`node-list`](#node-list) restricts a scan to an explicit node list. Each routine with `prefer-racks` is potentially partial: the backup includes only records whose master partition is on one of the resolved nodes when the job starts. ```yaml backup-routines: dailyLocalBackupRoutine: # <--- Custom routine name interval-cron: "@daily" incr-interval-cron: "0 */2 * * * *" source-cluster: abs-cluster storage: s3 backup-policy: dailyBackupPolicy namespaces: ["test"] prefer-racks: [100, 101] # Restricts backup to nodes in racks 100 and 101 (partial backup, see caution above) ``` ## GitHub repository example files This section explains the two sample configuration files included in the [ABS GitHub repository](https://github.com/aerospike/aerospike-backup-service/). Default Docker Compose ABS Configuration: The following sample backup service configuration supplied with the Docker Compose stack for ABS consists of four sections: - `aerospike-clusters` defines the location and access credentials for ABS to communicate with Aerospike Database, calling that cluster `absCluster1`. Since this is a Docker Compose stack, it uses the Aerospike Database Docker container name `"aerospike-cluster"` as the hostname instead of an IP address. - `storage` defines the location of the storage for database backups. Here, it creates a storage type called `minioStorage` that uses the `s3-endpoint-override` parameter to send backed up data to MinIO instead of Amazon S3. You can define multiple storage types that can later be used in multiple backup policies. - In `backup-policies`, a new policy called `keepFilesPolicy` is defined with simple instructions to run in a single thread and keep all previous backups. A policy is a set of instructions defining how to do a specific type of backup. You can define multiple policies that can be used in various backup routines. ::: note Backup policies are defined in the configuration file. In contrast, restore policies are not defined beforehand; they are sent in the body of each restore request. ::: - `backup-routines` specifies a routine called `minioKeepFilesRoutine` that runs the `keepFilesPolicy` policy daily for full backups and hourly for incremental backups. Routines specify the source cluster to back up data from, a storage type as defined under the `storage` section, and a namespace from the source cluster to back up. You can define multiple routines that can be run according to different schedules or on demand. ```yaml aerospike-clusters: absCluster1: seed-nodes: - host-name: "aerospike-cluster" port: 3000 credentials: user: admin password: admin storage: minioStorage: s3-storage: bucket: my-backup-bucket path: backups s3-profile: default s3-region: eu-central-1 s3-endpoint-override: http://minio:9000 backup-policies: keepFilesPolicy: # Run backup operations in a single thread. parallel: 1 backup-routines: minioKeepFilesRoutine: # 24 hours interval for full backups. interval-cron: "@daily" # 1 hour interval for incremental backups. incr-interval-cron: "@hourly" source-cluster: absCluster1 storage: minioStorage namespaces: ["test"] backup-policy: keepFilesPolicy ``` Default Linux ABS Configuration: The default configuration file supplied with Linux distributions is smaller and simpler than the configuration in the Docker Compose setup. By default, it sets up a connection to a namespace called `"test"` in an Aerospike Database cluster accessible at `127.0.0.1:3000`. It stores backup files locally at `/var/lib/aerospike-backup-service`. ```yaml aerospike-clusters: cluster1: use-services-alternate: false seed-nodes: - host-name: "127.0.0.1" port: 3000 credentials: user: "admin" password: "admin" storage: local: local-storage: path: /var/lib/aerospike-backup-service backup-policies: policy1: parallel: 1 backup-routines: routine1: interval-cron: "@weekly" incr-interval-cron: "@daily" backup-policy: "policy1" source-cluster: "cluster1" storage: "local" namespaces: ["test"] ```