# Offline Copy of an Unlimited Storage Database

> **📝 Note**: Unlimited storage databases are not available in all editions of SingleStore. For more information, see [SingleStore Editions](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/introduction/singlestore-editions.md).

Suppose your unlimited storage database is named `bottomless_db`. Some situations where you would make a copy of `bottomless_db` include:

* You are testing an application that uses `bottomless_db` and you want to perform testing on the database copy.
* You want to perform an audit of the contents of `bottomless_db` at a time in the past. You make a copy and restore the copy to a past milestone.
* `bottomless_db` has become corrupted and you make a copy and restore the copy to the point (the milestone) before the corruption occurred. Then, you can compare `bottomless_db` with the copy.

## Procedure for Performing a Copy

The following example demonstrates how to copy an unlimited storage database, where Amazon S3 is used as the remote object store. The Setup section contains the prerequisite steps needed to create the database and milestones, prior to performing the copy.

## Setup

1\. Create the unlimited storage database `bottomless_db` in the object storage bucket `bottomless_db_bucket` in the folder `bottomless_db_folder`.

The following definition assumes you are using Amazon S3 as the object storage provider.

Note that `aws_session_token` is required only if your credentials in the `CREDENTIALS` clause are temporary.

```sql
CREATE DATABASE bottomless_db ON S3 "bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db_folder"
  CONFIG '{"region":"us-east-1"}'
  CREDENTIALS '{"aws_access_key_id":"your_access_key_id","aws_secret_access_key":"your_secret_access_key","aws_session_token":"your_session_token"}';
```

The following definition assumes you are using Azure as the object storage provider.

```sql
CREATE DATABASE bottomless_db ON AZURE "bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db_folder"  
    CONFIG ''  
    CREDENTIALS '{"account_name":"your_account_name","account_key":"your_account_key"}';
```

The following definition assumes you are using GCS as the object storage provider.

```sql
CREATE DATABASE bottomless_db ON GCS "bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db_folder"
  CONFIG '' 
  CREDENTIALS'{"access_id":"your_access_key_id", "secret_key":"your_secret_access_key"}';
```

2\. Make some updates to `bottomless_db`. In this example, you update the database by creating a table and inserting some data:

```sql
USE bottomless_db;
CREATE TABLE t(a INT);
INSERT INTO t(a) VALUES (10);
INSERT INTO t(a) VALUES (20);
```

3\. Create a milestone (a restore point):

```sql
CREATE MILESTONE "after_second_insert" FOR bottomless_db;
```

4\. Make more updates to `bottomless_db`:

```sql
INSERT INTO t(a) VALUES (30);
INSERT INTO t(a) VALUES (40);
```

## Perform the Copy

Detach `bottomless_db` and name the milestone `after_fourth_insert`:

```sql
DETACH DATABASE bottomless_db AT "after_fourth_insert";
```

In remote object storage, create a new bucket `copy_of_bottomless_db_bucket` where you will copy the objects from `bottomless_db_bucket`.

Next, copy the `bottomless_db` folder in the `bottomless_db_bucket` to the `copy_of_bottomless_db_bucket`. Refer to the instructions in your remote object storage provider's documentation for copying objects from one bucket to another. For example, with Amazon S3 you could use [these instructions](https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/move-objects-s3-bucket/).

Your remote object storage provider may have a copy-on-write option that can be enabled when copying objects from one bucket to another. Copy-on-write allows the copy to complete faster than it otherwise would.

> **⚠️ Warning**: The source database (`bottomless_db`) must remain detached while the objects from the source bucket (`bottomless_db_bucket)` are copying. Otherwise, the destination database may become unusable.

After the copy completes, attach `copy_of_bottomless_db_bucket`  at the `after_fourth_insert`, the milestone that was created right before you copied the objects in the remote object store. Name the copied database `copy_of_bottomless_db`:

```sql
ATTACH DATABASE copy_of_bottomless_db ON S3 "copy_of_bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db"
  CONFIG '{"region":"us-east-1"}'
  CREDENTIALS '{"aws_access_key_id":"your_access_key_id","aws_secret_access_key":"your_secret_access_key"}'
  AT MILESTONE "after_fourth_insert";
```

\[empty]

```sql
ATTACH DATABASE copy_of_bottomless_db ON AZURE "copy_of_bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db"
    CONFIG ''   
    CREDENTIALS '{"account_name":"your_account_name","account_key":"your_account_key"}'  
    AT MILESTONE "after_fourth_insert";
```

For GCS:

```sql
ATTACH DATABASE copy_of_bottomless_db ON GCS "copy_of_bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db"
    CONFIG ''   
    CREDENTIALS '{"access_id":"your_access_key_id", "secret_key":"your_secret_access_key"}'
    AT MILESTONE "after_fourth_insert";

```

> **📝 Note**: You could have also attached `copy_of_bottomless_db` at a previous milestone, which would be `after_second_insert` in this scenario. You would do this, for example, if you wanted to compare the database updates that occurred between the `after_second_insert` milestone and `after_fourth_insert` milestone.

Finally, attach `bottomless_db` at the `after_fourth_insert` milestone, which is the same milestone you had detached it at.

```sql
ATTACH DATABASE bottomless_db ON S3 "bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db"
  CONFIG '{"region":"us-east-1"}'
  CREDENTIALS '{"aws_access_key_id":"your_access_key_id","aws_secret_access_key":"your_secret_access_key"}'
  AT MILESTONE "after_fourth_insert";
```

For Azure

```sql
ATTACH DATABASE bottomless_db ON AZURE "bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db"
    CONFIG ''   
    CREDENTIALS '{"account_name":"your_account_name","account_key":"your_account_key"}' 
    AT MILESTONE "after_fourth_insert";
```

For GCS

```sql
ATTACH DATABASE bottomless_db ON GCS "bottomless_db_bucket/bottomless_db"
    CONFIG ''   
    CREDENTIALS '{"access_id":"your_access_key_id", "secret_key":"your_secret_access_key"}'
    AT MILESTONE "after_fourth_insert";
```

***

Modified at: August 6, 2025

Source: [/db/v9.1/manage-data/unlimited-data-storage/copy-an-unlimited-storage-database/](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/manage-data/unlimited-data-storage/copy-an-unlimited-storage-database/)

(An index of the documentation is available at /llms.txt)