IMPORTANT: No additional bug fixes or documentation updates will be released for this version. For the latest information, see the current release documentation.
« Resilience in larger clusters Back up a cluster’s data »
Elastic Docs ›Elasticsearch Guide [7.8] ›Set up a cluster for high availability

Back up a cluster

edit

Back up a cluster

edit

You cannot back up an Elasticsearch cluster by simply copying the data directories of all of its nodes. Elasticsearch may be making changes to the contents of its data directories while it is running; copying its data directories cannot be expected to capture a consistent picture of their contents. If you try to restore a cluster from such a backup, it may fail and report corruption and/or missing files. Alternatively, it may appear to have succeeded though it silently lost some of its data. The only reliable way to back up a cluster is by using the snapshot and restore functionality.

To have a complete backup for your cluster:

  1. Back up the data
  2. Back up the cluster configuration
  3. Back up the security configuration

To restore your cluster from a backup:

  1. Restore the data
  2. Restore the security configuration
« Resilience in larger clusters Back up a cluster’s data »