General questions about Yandex StoreDoc

• What is Yandex StoreDoc?

• What is the role of Yandex StoreDoc in database management and maintenance?

• When should I use Yandex StoreDoc and when database-hosting VMs?

• What is a database host and what is a database cluster?

• How do I get started with Yandex StoreDoc?

• How many database hosts can a cluster contain?

• How can I access a running database host?

• How many clusters can I create within a single cloud?

• How are database clusters maintained?

• Which Yandex StoreDoc version does Yandex StoreDoc use?

• What happens when a new DBMS version is released?

• What happens when a DBMS version becomes deprecated?

• How do you calculate usage cost for a database host?

• How can I change the computing resources and storage size for a database cluster?

• Are database host backups enabled by default?

• What is the backup schedule? Can I access my database cluster during backup?

• Can I change the retention period for automatic backups?

• What metrics and processes can be monitored?

• How can I configure an alert for when disk usage reaches a certain percentage?

What is Yandex StoreDoc?What is Yandex StoreDoc?

Yandex StoreDoc is a service that helps you create, operate, and scale Yandex StoreDoc databases in the cloud.

With Yandex StoreDoc, you can:

• Create databases that meet your performance requirements.
• Scale computing power and dedicated storage capacity for your databases.
• Retrieve database logs.

Yandex StoreDoc handles the heavy lifting of Yandex StoreDoc infrastructure management:

• Monitors your resource consumption.
• Performs automated database backups.
• Ensures fault tolerance through automatic failover to standby replicas.
• Keeps your database software up-to-date.

You can work with a Yandex StoreDoc database cluster the same way as with your regular local database. For instance, it allows you to manage the database’s internal settings to meet your application’s requirements.

What is the role of Yandex StoreDoc in database management and maintenance?What is the role of Yandex StoreDoc in database management and maintenance?

During cluster creation, Yandex StoreDoc allocates resources, installs the database software, and creates databases.

Yandex StoreDoc performs automated backups of your databases and applies database software patches and updates.

Additionally, Yandex StoreDoc ensures replication across database hosts (both within and between availability zones) and automatically redirects traffic to a standby replica during an outage.

Be mindful of what is managed by the service and what, by the Yandex Cloud customer. Understanding these areas of management helps you use your cloud resources efficiently and avoid potential database-related issues. For more information, see Zones of control between managed database (MDB) service users and Yandex Cloud.

When should I use Yandex StoreDoc and when database-hosting VMs?When should I use Yandex StoreDoc and when database-hosting VMs?

Yandex Cloud offers two approaches for working with databases:

• With Yandex StoreDoc, you can run pre-configured databases without the administrative overhead.
• Using Yandex Compute Cloud virtual machines, you can create and configure your own custom databases. This approach allows you to use any database management system, access databases over SSH, and much more.

What is a database host and what is a database cluster?What is a database host and what is a database cluster?

A database host is a cloud-based isolated database environment with dedicated computing resources and reserved storage capacity.

A database cluster consists of one or more database hosts with configurable replication between them.

How do I get started with Yandex StoreDoc?How do I get started with Yandex StoreDoc?

Yandex StoreDoc is available to all registered Yandex Cloud users.

Before you create a database cluster in Yandex StoreDoc, you need to decide on its specifications:

• Host class that will determine your host performance by specifying its resources, such as the number of vCPUs, RAM size, etc.
• Disk type and size. Its storage capacity is fully reserved when the cluster is created.
• Your cluster network.
• Number of hosts in the cluster and their respective availability zones.

For more details, see Getting started with Yandex StoreDoc.

How many database hosts can a cluster contain?How many database hosts can a cluster contain?

The minimum cluster size depends on the following:

• Your chosen platform and host class.
• Selected disk type.

The maximum cluster size is limited only by its allocated computing and storage resources.

For more details, see Quotas and limits.

How can I access a running database host?How can I access a running database host?

You can connect to Yandex StoreDoc databases using native DBMS connection methods.

To learn more about connecting to clusters see this guide.

How many clusters can I create within a single cloud?How many clusters can I create within a single cloud?

To learn more about technical and organizational limitations of MDB, see Quotas and limits.

How are database clusters maintained?How are database clusters maintained?

Maintenance in Yandex StoreDoc includes:

• Automatic installation of database management system updates and patches for hosts in both running and stopped clusters.
• Host class and storage size scaling.
• Other Yandex StoreDoc maintenance tasks.

For more details, see Maintenance.

Which Yandex StoreDoc version does Yandex StoreDoc use?Which Yandex StoreDoc version does Yandex StoreDoc use?

Yandex StoreDoc supports Yandex StoreDoc versions 6.0 and 7.0.

What happens when a new DBMS version is released?What happens when a new DBMS version is released?

When new minor versions are released, the cluster software is updated after a short testing period. Affected database cluster owners receive advance notice of the maintenance schedule and database availability.

What happens when a DBMS version becomes deprecated?What happens when a DBMS version becomes deprecated?

Following a one-month grace period after the end of support for a DBMS version, the relevant database cluster owners receive email notifications.

From that point on, you can no longer create new hosts with unsupported DBMS versions. Following a post-notification grace period of seven days for minor versions and one month for major versions, database clusters are automatically updated to the next supported release. We update unsupported major versions even when you have automatic updates turned off.

How do you calculate usage cost for a database host?How do you calculate usage cost for a database host?

In Yandex StoreDoc, the usage cost is calculated based on the following:

• Selected host class.
• Reserved storage capacity for the database host.
• Size of database cluster backups. You are not charged for backup storage up to the size of your provisioned storage. Backup storage exceeding this limit is charged according to our pricing policy.
• Database host uptime in hours. Partial hours are rounded to the nearest whole hour. The hourly cost for each host class is provided in our pricing policy.

How can I change the computing resources and storage size for a database cluster?How can I change the computing resources and storage size for a database cluster?

You can scale your computing resources and storage size by selecting a different host class for your cluster in the management console.

Cluster modifications are applied within 30 minutes. This window may also be used for other maintenance tasks, such as installing updates.

Are database host backups enabled by default?Are database host backups enabled by default?

Yes, backups are enabled by default. For Yandex StoreDoc, a full backup is performed once a day, allowing you to restore from any saved backup point.

Backups are retained for seven days by default.

What is the backup schedule? Can I access my database cluster during backup?What is the backup schedule? Can I access my database cluster during backup?

The backup window, i.e., the scheduled time for the full daily backup of a database cluster, is from 01:00 to 05:00 (UTC+3).

Clusters remain fully accessible throughout the backup window.

Can I change the retention period for automatic backups?Can I change the retention period for automatic backups?

You can set the retention period for automatic backups when creating or updating a cluster.

What metrics and processes can be monitored?What metrics and processes can be monitored?

For all DBMS types, you can monitor:

• CPU, memory, network, and disk utilization, in absolute terms.
• Memory, network, and disk utilization as a percentage of the set limits for the cluster’s host class.
• Total cluster data size and available storage space remaining.

All database hosts support monitoring metrics specific to their DBMS type. For example, for Yandex StoreDoc you can monitor:

• Number of queries per second.
• Disk space usage.
• Number of connections, and more.

You can monitor metrics with a five-second minimum granularity.

How can I configure an alert for when disk usage reaches a certain percentage?How can I configure an alert for when disk usage reaches a certain percentage?

Create an alert for the disk.used_bytes metric in Yandex Monitoring. This metric shows the disk space usage in the Yandex StoreDoc cluster.

For the disk.used_bytes metric, you can use notification thresholds with the following recommended values:

• Alarm: 90% of disk space.
• Warning: 70% of disk space.

Thresholds can only be set in bytes. For example, the recommended values for a 100 GB disk are as follows:

• Alarm: 96636764160 bytes (90%)
• Warning: 75161927680 bytes (70%)

Does the service meet the requirements of the Russian Federation Federal Law 152-FZ on personal data?Does the service meet the requirements of the Russian Federation Federal Law 152-FZ on personal data?

Yes, it does. You can read the full security audit conclusion here.

Can I get logs of my operations in Yandex Cloud?Can I get logs of my operations in Yandex Cloud?

Yes, you can request information about operations with your resources from Yandex Cloud logs. Do it by contacting support.

What is the retention period for logs?What is the retention period for logs?

Cluster logs are stored for 30 days.

What is Yandex StoreDoc's share of database management and maintenance work?What is Yandex StoreDoc's share of database management and maintenance work?

Be mindful of what is managed by the service and what, by the Yandex Cloud customer. Understanding these areas of management helps you use your cloud resources efficiently and avoid potential database-related issues. For more information, see Zones of control between managed database (MDB) service users and Yandex Cloud.