How to Backup Redshift in PostgreSQL

Galaxy Glossary

How do I back up an Amazon Redshift cluster or individual tables?

“Backup Redshift” creates a point-in-time snapshot or exports tables to S3 so data can be restored or re-created later.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

Why back up an Amazon Redshift cluster?

Backups let you recover from accidental deletes, failed deployments, or region-wide outages. Manual snapshots and UNLOAD exports provide fine-grained restore points beyond Redshift’s automatic retention.

What SQL creates a manual snapshot?

Run CREATE SNAPSHOT in any database. The command stores a cluster-wide backup in Amazon S3 without interrupting queries.

How do I copy data for table-level backups?

UNLOAD exports query results to compressed files in an S3 bucket you own. Grant iam_role or aws_access_key_id/secret_access_key before running.

Step-by-step UNLOAD example

1.Choose bucket s3://acme-backups/redshift/.
2. Add server-side encryption if needed.
3. Partition files with PARALLEL ON to speed export on large tables.

How do I restore from a snapshot?

Use the AWS Console or aws redshift restore-from-cluster-snapshot CLI to spin up a new cluster.Point apps to the restored endpoint once data validates.

Best practices for Redshift backups

• Schedule nightly CREATE SNAPSHOT via EventBridge.
• Export critical fact tables weekly with UNLOAD.
• Tag snapshots by environment for lifecycle policies.
• Test restores quarterly.

Common mistakes and solutions

Ignoring IAM roles: Always attach an IAM_ROLE with S3 write access to avoid AccessDenied errors.
Exporting without compression: Add GZIP to cut storage costs and speed transfers.

Why How to Backup Redshift in PostgreSQL is important

How to Backup Redshift in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Back up all May orders with UNLOAD
UNLOAD (
  'SELECT o.*, p.name, p.price, oi.quantity
   FROM Orders o
   JOIN OrderItems oi ON o.id = oi.order_id
   JOIN Products p   ON p.id = oi.product_id
   WHERE order_date BETWEEN ''2023-05-01'' AND ''2023-05-31'''
) TO 's3://acme-backups/redshift/may_orders_'
IAM_ROLE 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/RedshiftS3Access'
GZIP PARALLEL ON;

How to Backup Redshift in PostgreSQL Syntax


-- Cluster-wide snapshot
CREATE SNAPSHOT my_may_01_snapshot;

-- List snapshots
SELECT snapshotid, createdate, status
FROM stl_snapshots;

-- Restore snapshot to new cluster (CLI)
aws redshift restore-from-cluster-snapshot \
  --cluster-identifier restored-prod \
  --snapshot-identifier my_may_01_snapshot

-- Table-level backup with UNLOAD
UNLOAD ('SELECT * FROM Customers')
TO 's3://acme-backups/redshift/customers_'
IAM_ROLE 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/RedshiftS3Access'
GZIP PARALLEL ON ALLOWOVERWRITE;

Common Mistakes

Relying solely on automatic snapshots: These expire after 35 days. Schedule manual snapshots for long-term retention or compliance.
Exporting data without an IAM role: Redshift needs explicit S3 write permissions; attach <code>IAM_ROLE</code> or pass keys to avoid failures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long does a manual snapshot take?

Most snapshots finish in minutes because Redshift copies only changed blocks (block-level incremental). Very large clusters may take longer but remain online.