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Aura Fundamentals

Introduction to Neo4j Aura

Getting Started

Tools

Operations

Backup and restore

Data protection is one of the most important aspects of database management. Whether you’re preparing for a major application update, migrating between environments, or simply want to ensure you can recover from unexpected problems, having a solid backup and restore strategy is essential.

In this lesson, you will learn how to:

  • Understand Aura’s snapshot system for automated backups

  • Export and manage snapshots for long-term storage

  • Restore data from snapshots and local backup files

  • Plan your backup strategy

Understanding Aura snapshots

Snapshots are Aura’s term for backups. The tier determines when they are taken and how many are kept available in Aura itself.

snapshot

Snapshots are your safety net. Think of them as save points in a video game - you can always go back to a known good state.

Aura automatically creates snapshots based on your instance tier:

  • Aura Free: Limited snapshot retention

  • Aura Professional: Regular automated snapshots with longer retention

  • Aura Business Critical: Frequent snapshots with extended retention periods

Working with snapshots

There are three key actions you can take with any snapshot:

  • Export - Download the snapshot to your local machine for long-term storage.

  • Create a new instance from snapshot - Spin up a new Aura instance using the snapshot data.

  • Restore - Revert your current instance to the snapshot’s point in time.

snapshotactions

Export snapshots

Export downloads the snapshot to your local machine. This is crucial for long-term archival beyond Aura’s retention period, especially when you need to meet compliance requirements that mandate offline backups.

It’s also essential for creating backups before major changes or migrations, and for sharing data securely with development teams.

Create new instances from snapshots

Create instance from snapshot spins up a fresh instance with the snapshot’s data. This is perfect for setting up development environments that mirror production, allowing you to test changes on a copy of real data.

You can also use this to create staging environments for application testing, or as part of your disaster recovery scenarios.

Restoring snapshots

Restore reverts your current instance to the snapshot’s point in time. You’ll want to use this when you need to roll back problematic changes, when data corruption has occurred, or when you want to return to a known good state after testing.

Overwriting data

Restoring a snapshot overwrites all current data in your instance. Make sure you export a current snapshot first if you might need to recover the current state later.

Restoring from backup file

restore

If you have a backup or dump on your local system (different from having snapshots available in Aura), you can use it to overwrite the current instance.

This is particularly useful when:

  • Migrating from a self-managed Neo4j setup to Aura

  • Restoring from an exported snapshot

  • Loading data from another Neo4j environment

Important limitations

Keep these constraints in mind when restoring from local files:

  • Instance size: The target instance must be large enough to hold the data

  • Aura Free restrictions: Additional limitations on node and relationship counts apply

  • File size limit: Backup files cannot exceed 4GB for upload through the console

  • Larger files: Files bigger than 4GB require command-line tools

When to use local restore

The use case for local file restore is somewhat limited, but it’s a great way to get started with smaller databases when moving from self-managed setups to Aura.

Consider this approach when:

  • Your backup file is under 4GB

  • You’re migrating from Neo4j Community or Enterprise

  • You need to bootstrap a new environment with existing data

  • You’re moving between different Neo4j hosting environments

Planning your backup strategy

Having a backup plan is essential for data protection, as well as for managing changes and migrations.

Here are some best practices to consider:

  • Plan for regular exports - Schedule regular exports of important snapshots to your own storage. This ensures you have a reliable backup that meets your compliance and retention requirements.

  • Test your restore process - Regularly test restoring from snapshots to ensure you can recover data when needed. This helps identify any issues in your backup and restore procedures before an actual need arises.

  • Consider compliance and retention - Understand your organization’s requirements for data retention and compliance. Ensure your backup strategy aligns with these needs, including how long backups must be kept and any specific storage or encryption requirements.

Regular snapshot exports

Regularly export important snapshots to your own storage:

  • Before major application deployments

  • After significant data imports or changes

  • On a scheduled basis for critical production data

  • Before performing any potentially risky operations

Testing your restore process

A backup is only as good as your ability to restore from it. Regularly test your backup and restore procedures:

  • Create test instances from snapshots

  • Verify data integrity after restoration

  • Document your restore procedures

  • Train your team on the restore process

Compliance and retention

Consider your organization’s requirements:

  • How long must backups be retained?

  • Are there specific compliance requirements?

  • Do you need backups stored in specific geographic regions?

  • Are there encryption requirements for exported snapshots?

Restoring using the Aura API

You can also restore an instance and create a new instances from a snapshot by its ID through the Aura API.

View the Aura API reference documentation

Check your understanding

Snapshot Purpose

What is the primary purpose of Aura snapshots?

  • ❏ To monitor database performance over time

  • ✓ To provide backup and recovery capabilities for your data

  • ❏ To compress your database to save storage space

Hint

Think about what you need most when something goes wrong with your database. What would help you get back to a working state?

Solution

Snapshots provide backup and recovery capabilities for your data.

Snapshots are Aura’s backup system - they allow you to create save points that you can restore to if something goes wrong, export for long-term storage, or use to create new instances with the same data.

Snapshot Actions

Which of the following actions can you take with an Aura snapshot? Select all that apply:

  • ✓ Export the snapshot to your local machine

  • ✓ Create a new instance from the snapshot

  • ✓ Restore the snapshot to overwrite the current instance

  • ❏ Share the snapshot directly with other Aura users

Hint

Look back at the lesson content about the three key snapshot actions. What were the specific operations mentioned that you can perform?

Solution

The correct answers are:

  • Export the snapshot to your local machine - Download for archival or compliance purposes

  • Create a new instance from the snapshot - Spin up a fresh instance with the snapshot’s data

  • Restore the snapshot to overwrite the current instance - Revert to the snapshot’s point in time

You cannot directly share snapshots with other Aura users - you would need to export the snapshot and share the file through your own secure channels.

Restore Limitations

What is the maximum file size for restoring a backup file from your local system to Aura?

  • ❏ 2GB - enough for most small databases

  • ✓ 4GB - suitable for medium-sized databases

  • ❏ There is no limit as long as the instance is big enough

Hint

Look back at the lesson content about restore limitations. What specific file size restriction is mentioned for local backup uploads?

Solution

The backup or dump file cannot be bigger than 4GB when uploading from your local system to Aura. If your file is larger, you’ll need to use the command line tools instead.

This limitation applies to uploads through the Aura console interface.

Summary

In this lesson, you learned about Aura’s comprehensive backup and restore capabilities.

You also learned about the important limitations to keep in mind, particularly the 4GB file size limit for console uploads and the various restrictions that apply to different Aura tiers.

In the next lesson, you’ll move on to connecting to your instance and start working with your data directly.

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