Backing up your PostgreSQL databases is an important task and can typically be completed with the pg_dump utility, which uses the COPY command by default to create a schema and data dump of a PostgreSQL database. However, this process can become repetitive if you require regular backups for multiple PostgreSQL databases. If your PostgreSQL databases are hosted in the cloud, you can also take advantage of the automated backup feature provided by Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for PostgreSQL as well. This pattern describes how to automate regular backups for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instances using the pg_dump utility.
Note: The instructions assume that you're using Amazon RDS. However, you can also use this approach for PostgreSQL databases that are hosted outside Amazon RDS. To take backups, the AWS Lambda function must be able to access your databases.
A time-based Amazon CloudWatch Events event initiates a Lambda function that searches for specific backup tags applied to the metadata of the PostgreSQL DB instances on Amazon RDS. If the PostgreSQL DB instances have the bkp:AutomatedDBDump = Active tag and other required backup tags, the Lambda function submits individual jobs for each database backup to AWS Batch.
AWS Batch processes these jobs and uploads the backup data to an Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket. This pattern uses a Dockerfile and an entrypoint.sh file to build a Docker container image that is used to make backups in the AWS Batch job. After the backup process is complete, AWS Batch records the backup details to an inventory table on Amazon DynamoDB. As an additional safeguard, a CloudWatch Events event initiates an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) notification if a job fails in AWS Batch.
