--- title: Back up and restore data description: Back up and restore your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster by copying object storage files in the recommended order for each node type. url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/backup-restore/ estimated_tokens: 5182 product: InfluxDB 3 Enterprise version: enterprise publisher: InfluxData canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/backup-restore/ date: '2025-08-25T09:32:48-04:00' lastmod: '2025-08-25T09:32:48-04:00' --- InfluxDB 3 Enterprise persists all data and metadata to object storage. Back up your data by copying object storage files in a specific order to ensure consistency and reliability. > [!Warning] > Currently, InfluxDB 3 Enterprise does not include built-in backup and restore tools. > Because copying files during periods of activity is a transient process, we highly recommended you follow the below procedures and copy order to minimize risk of creating inconsistent backups. ## Supported object storage InfluxDB 3 supports the following object storage backends for data persistence: * **File system** (local directory) * **AWS S3** and S3-compatible storage ([MinIO](/influxdb3/enterprise/object-storage/minio/)) * **Azure Blob Storage** * **Google Cloud Storage** > [!Note] > Backup and restore procedures don’t apply to memory-based [object stores](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#object-store). ## File structure | Location | Description | |-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Cluster files** | | | `/_catalog_checkpoint` | Catalog state checkpoint file | | `/catalog/` | Catalog log files tracking catalog state changes | | `/commercial_license` | Commercial [license](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/license/) file (if applicable) | | `/trial_or_home_license` | Trial or home [license](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/license/) file (if applicable) | | `/enterprise` | Enterprise configuration file | | **Node files** | | | `/wal/` | [Write-ahead log files](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/internals/durability/#write-ahead-log-wal-persistence) containing written data | | `/snapshots/` | Snapshot files | | `/dbs////` |[Parquet files](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/internals/durability/#parquet-storage) organized by [database](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/databases/), [table](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tables/), and time| |`/table-snapshots//
/`| Table snapshot files (regenerated on restart, optional for backup) | | **Compactor node additional files** | | | `/cs` | Compaction summary files | | `/cd` | Compaction detail files | | `/c` | Generation detail and [Parquet files](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/internals/durability/#parquet-storage) | ## Backup process > [!Important] > Copy files in the recommended order to reduce risk of creating inconsistent backups. Perform backups during downtime or minimal load periods when possible. **Recommended backup order:** 1. Compactor node directories (cs, cd, c) 2. All nodes’ snapshots, dbs, wal directories 3. Cluster catalog and checkpoint 4. License files #### S3 #### ``` #!/bin/bash CLUSTER_ID="CLUSTER_ID" COMPACTOR_NODE="COMPACTOR_NODE" DATA_NODES=("NODE1" "NODE2" "NODE3") SOURCE_BUCKET="SOURCE_BUCKET" BACKUP_BUCKET="BACKUP_BUCKET" BACKUP_PREFIX="backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)" # 1. Backup compactor node first echo "Backing up compactor node..." aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/cs \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/cs/ aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/cd \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/cd/ aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/c \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/c/ # 2. Backup all nodes (including compactor) ALL_NODES=("${DATA_NODES[@]}" "$COMPACTOR_NODE") for NODE_ID in "${ALL_NODES[@]}"; do echo "Backing up node: ${NODE_ID}" aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${NODE_ID}/snapshots \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${NODE_ID}/snapshots/ aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${NODE_ID}/dbs \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${NODE_ID}/dbs/ aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${NODE_ID}/wal \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${NODE_ID}/wal/ done # 3. Backup cluster catalog echo "Backing up cluster catalog..." aws s3 sync s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/catalog \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/catalog/ aws s3 cp s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/_catalog_checkpoint \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ aws s3 cp s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/enterprise \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ # 4. Backup license files (may not exist) aws s3 cp s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/commercial_license \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ 2>/dev/null || true aws s3 cp s3://${SOURCE_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/trial_or_home_license \ s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ 2>/dev/null || true echo "Backup completed to s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}" ``` Replace the following: * `CLUSTER_ID`: your [cluster ID](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#cluster-id) * `COMPACTOR_NODE`: your [compactor](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/multi-server/#high-availability-with-a-dedicated-compactor) node ID * `NODE1`, `NODE2`, `NODE3`: your data [node IDs](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#node-id) * `SOURCE_BUCKET`: your InfluxDB data bucket * `BACKUP_BUCKET`: your backup destination bucket ```bash #!/bin/bash CLUSTER_ID="CLUSTER_ID" COMPACTOR_NODE="COMPACTOR_NODE" DATA_NODES=("NODE1" "NODE2" "NODE3") DATA_DIR="/path/to/data" BACKUP_DIR="/backup/$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)" mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR" # 1. Backup compactor node first echo "Backing up compactor node..." cp -r $DATA_DIR/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/cs "$BACKUP_DIR/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/" cp -r $DATA_DIR/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/cd "$BACKUP_DIR/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/" cp -r $DATA_DIR/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/c "$BACKUP_DIR/${COMPACTOR_NODE}/" # 2. Backup all nodes ALL_NODES=("${DATA_NODES[@]}" "$COMPACTOR_NODE") for NODE_ID in "${ALL_NODES[@]}"; do echo "Backing up node: ${NODE_ID}" mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR/${NODE_ID}" cp -r $DATA_DIR/${NODE_ID}/snapshots "$BACKUP_DIR/${NODE_ID}/" cp -r $DATA_DIR/${NODE_ID}/dbs "$BACKUP_DIR/${NODE_ID}/" cp -r $DATA_DIR/${NODE_ID}/wal "$BACKUP_DIR/${NODE_ID}/" done # 3. Backup cluster catalog echo "Backing up cluster catalog..." mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}" cp -r $DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/catalog "$BACKUP_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/" cp $DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/_catalog_checkpoint "$BACKUP_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/" cp $DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/enterprise "$BACKUP_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/" # 4. Backup license files (if they exist) [ -f "$DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/commercial_license" ] && \ cp $DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/commercial_license "$BACKUP_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/" [ -f "$DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/trial_or_home_license" ] && \ cp $DATA_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/trial_or_home_license "$BACKUP_DIR/${CLUSTER_ID}/" echo "Backup completed to $BACKUP_DIR" ``` Replace the following: * `CLUSTER_ID`: your [cluster ID](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#cluster-id) * `COMPACTOR_NODE`: your [compactor](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/multi-server/#high-availability-with-a-dedicated-compactor) node ID * `NODE1`, `NODE2`, `NODE3`: your data [node IDs](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#node-id) ## Restore process > [!Warning] > Restoring overwrites existing data. Always verify you have correct backups before proceeding. **Recommended restore order:** 1. Cluster catalog and checkpoint 2. License files 3. All nodes’ snapshots, dbs, wal directories 4. Compactor node directories (cs, cd, c) #### S3 restore example ```bash #!/bin/bash CLUSTER_ID="CLUSTER_ID" COMPACTOR_NODE="COMPACTOR_NODE" DATA_NODES=("NODE1" "NODE2" "NODE3") BACKUP_BUCKET="BACKUP_BUCKET" BACKUP_PREFIX="backup-BACKUP_DATE" TARGET_BUCKET="TARGET_BUCKET" # 1. Stop all InfluxDB 3 Enterprise nodes # Implementation depends on your orchestration # 2. Restore cluster catalog and license first aws s3 cp s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/_catalog_checkpoint \ s3://${TARGET_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ aws s3 sync s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/catalog \ s3://${TARGET_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/catalog/ aws s3 cp s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/enterprise \ s3://${TARGET_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ # Restore license files if they exist aws s3 cp s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/commercial_license \ s3://${TARGET_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ 2>/dev/null || true aws s3 cp s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${CLUSTER_ID}/trial_or_home_license \ s3://${TARGET_BUCKET}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ 2>/dev/null || true # 3. Restore all nodes ALL_NODES=("${DATA_NODES[@]}" "$COMPACTOR_NODE") for NODE_ID in "${ALL_NODES[@]}"; do echo "Restoring node: ${NODE_ID}" aws s3 sync s3://${BACKUP_BUCKET}/${BACKUP_PREFIX}/${NODE_ID}/ \ s3://${TARGET_BUCKET}/${NODE_ID}/ done # 4. Start InfluxDB Enterprise nodes # Start in order: data nodes, compactor ``` Replace the following: * `CLUSTER_ID`: your [cluster ID](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#cluster-id) * `COMPACTOR_NODE`: your [compactor](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/multi-server/#high-availability-with-a-dedicated-compactor) node ID * `NODE1`, `NODE2`, `NODE3`: your data [node IDs](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#node-id) * `BACKUP_DATE`: backup timestamp * `BACKUP_BUCKET`: bucket containing backup * `TARGET_BUCKET`: target bucket for restoration #### File system restore example ```bash #!/bin/bash CLUSTER_ID="CLUSTER_ID" COMPACTOR_NODE="COMPACTOR_NODE" DATA_NODES=("NODE1" "NODE2" "NODE3") BACKUP_DIR="/backup/BACKUP_DATE" DATA_DIR="/path/to/data" # 1. Stop all InfluxDB 3 Enterprise nodes # Implementation depends on your deployment method # 2. Optional: Clear existing data ALL_NODES=("${DATA_NODES[@]}" "$COMPACTOR_NODE") for NODE_ID in "${ALL_NODES[@]}"; do rm -rf ${DATA_DIR}/${NODE_ID}/* done rm -rf ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/* # 3. Restore cluster catalog and license mkdir -p ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID} cp ${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/_catalog_checkpoint ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ cp -r ${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/catalog ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ cp ${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/enterprise ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ # Restore license files if they exist [ -f "${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/commercial_license" ] && \ cp ${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/commercial_license ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ [ -f "${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/trial_or_home_license" ] && \ cp ${BACKUP_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/trial_or_home_license ${DATA_DIR}/${CLUSTER_ID}/ # 4. Restore all nodes for NODE_ID in "${ALL_NODES[@]}"; do echo "Restoring node: ${NODE_ID}" mkdir -p ${DATA_DIR}/${NODE_ID} cp -r ${BACKUP_DIR}/${NODE_ID}/* ${DATA_DIR}/${NODE_ID}/ done # 5. Set correct permissions # NOTE: Adjust 'influxdb:influxdb' to match your actual deployment user/group configuration. chown -R influxdb:influxdb ${DATA_DIR} # 6. Start InfluxDB Enterprise nodes # Start in order: data nodes, compactor ``` Replace the following: * `CLUSTER_ID`: your [cluster ID](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#cluster-id) * `COMPACTOR_NODE`: your [compactor](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/multi-server/#high-availability-with-a-dedicated-compactor) node ID * `NODE1`, `NODE2`, `NODE3`: your data [node IDs](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#node-id) * `BACKUP_DATE`: backup directory timestamp ## Recovery expectations > [!Warning] > Recovery succeeds to a consistent point in time, which is the **latest snapshot included** in the backup. Data written after that snapshot may not be present if its WAL was deleted after the backup. Any Parquet files without a snapshot reference are ignored. ## Object storage features and backup planning ### Versioning If your object storage provider supports it, consider enabling short-term object versioning on the object store backing InfluxDB 3 Enterprise — typically 1–2 days — to protect against errant writes or accidental deletions. With versioning enabled, the object store retains distinct versions of each updated object, which can be used to recover from these incidents. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise writes mostly immutable Parquet files and rarely updates existing objects, so versioning helps most with recovering specific accidentally deleted files. If many files are affected at once, recovering them through individual version restores becomes impractical. Versioning costs grow with object update frequency. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise’s compaction process generates new Parquet files over time, so each compaction pass adds to the retained version count in a versioned bucket. Use the shortest retention window that meets your recovery needs, and treat versioning as a short-window safety net rather than a long-term backup substitute. ### Periodic backups Provider-side features like versioning, soft delete, and point-in-time recovery protect against many failure modes but do **not** replace backups. Periodic backups to a separate object store remain the only predictable, repeatable way to recover from: * Corruption or compromise of the primary object store. * Accidental or malicious deletion of data. * Bad data written into the primary store (a replica of bad data is not a valid recovery point). The [backup process](#backup-process) above is provider-agnostic — you can use any provider-native tool to copy to a separate bucket, container, or account, as long as you preserve the documented directory structure and file ordering. Schedule copies during low-load periods or downtime windows when possible. > [!Note] > Restoring to a different bucket, container, or storage account requires a new license — see [Licensing and disaster recovery](#licensing-and-disaster-recovery) below for binding details and DR planning. ## Licensing and disaster recovery > [!Important] > License files are tied to the complete object store configuration and the cluster ID, not just the bucket or container name. > Changing any component of your object store configuration or restoring to a different cluster invalidates your license. License binding varies by cloud provider: | Provider | License bound to | |------------------------|--------------------------------------------------| | **AWS S3** | Endpoint + bucket name + region + cluster ID | | **Azure Blob Storage** |Storage account name + container name + cluster ID| |**Google Cloud Storage**| GCS base URL + bucket name + cluster ID | | **File storage** | Exact file path + cluster ID | For disaster recovery planning: * **Pre-provision a DR license**: Request a license for your DR storage configuration before an incident occurs. * **Contact support for migrations**: If you need to restore to a different storage account, endpoint, bucket, or cluster, [contact InfluxData support](https://support.influxdata.com) to obtain a new license. ## Containerized deployments When running InfluxDB 3 Enterprise in containers: * **Volume consistency**: Use the same volume mounts for backup and restore operations * **File permissions**: Ensure container user can read restored files (use `chown` if needed) * **Backup access**: Mount a backup directory to copy files from containers to the host * **Node coordination**: Stop and start all Enterprise nodes (querier, ingester, compactor) in the correct order ## Excluded files Files in `/table-snapshots/` are intentionally excluded from backup: * These files are periodically overwritten * They regenerate automatically on server restart * Including them doesn’t harm but increases backup size unnecessarily ## Backup timing * Perform backups during downtime or minimal load periods * Copying files while the database is active may create inconsistent backups * Consider using filesystem or storage snapshots if available * Compression is optional but recommended for long-term storage #### Related * [Manage databases](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/databases/) * [Manage your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise license](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/license/) * [influxdb3 serve](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/serve/) * [Install InfluxDB 3 Enterprise](/influxdb3/enterprise/install/) * [Create a multi-node cluster](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/multi-server/) * [InfluxDB 3 Enterprise Internals](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/internals/durability/) [backup](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/backup/)[restore](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/restore/)[administration](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/administration/)[cluster](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/cluster/)[object storage](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/object-storage/) | Location | Description | | --- | --- | | Location | Description | | Cluster files | | | /_catalog_checkpoint | Catalog state checkpoint file | | /catalog/ | Catalog log files tracking catalog state changes | | /commercial_license | Commercial license file (if applicable) | | /trial_or_home_license | Trial or home license file (if applicable) | | /enterprise | Enterprise configuration file | | Node files | | | /wal/ | Write-ahead log files containing written data | | /snapshots/ | Snapshot files | | /dbs//
// | Parquet files organized by database , table , and time | | /table-snapshots//
/ | Table snapshot files (regenerated on restart, optional for backup) | | Compactor node additional files | | | /cs | Compaction summary files | | /cd | Compaction detail files | | /c | Generation detail and Parquet files | | Provider | License bound to | | --- | --- | | Provider | License bound to | | AWS S3 | Endpoint + bucket name + region + cluster ID | | Azure Blob Storage | Storage account name + container name + cluster ID | | Google Cloud Storage | GCS base URL + bucket name + cluster ID | | File storage | Exact file path + cluster ID |