FAQ¶

What’s the difference between PBM and `mongodump`?¶

mongodump is a “logical” backup solution only while Percona Backup for MongoDB supports both logical and physical backups. Both solutions have equal performance for non-sharded replica sets. However, as opposed to mongodump, Percona Backup for MongoDB allows you to achieve the following goals:

Make consistent backups and restores in sharded clusters.
Backup / restore both the whole data set and specific namespaces —— databases and collections. (See Selective backup and restore for more information.)
Restore your database to a specific point in time.
Run backups / restores on each replica set in parallel while mongodump runs in one process on mongos node.

Why does Percona Backup for MongoDB use UTC timezone instead of server local timezone?¶

pbm-agents use UTC time zone by design. The reason behind this is to avoid user misunderstandings when replica set / cluster nodes are distributed geographically in different time zones.

Starting with version 2.0.1, you can change the time zone for pbm logs output.

Can I restore a single collection with Percona Backup for MongoDB?¶

Yes. Starting with version 2.0.0, you can restore a single collection with Percona Backup for MongoDB. This functionality is available for logical backups and restores only. To learn more, see Selective backup and restore.

Can I back up specific shards in a cluster?¶

No, since this would result in backups with inconsistent timestamps across the cluster. Such backups would be invalid for restore.

Percona Backup for MongoDB backs up the whole state of a sharded cluster, and this guarantees data consistency during the restore.

Do I need to stop the balancer for PITR restore?¶

Yes. The preconditions for both Point-in-Time Recovery restore and regular restore are the same:

In a sharded cluster, stop the balancer.
Make sure no writes are made to the database during restore. This ensures data consistency.

Why did my physical backup fail with Location50917 or Location50915 errors?¶

Both Location50917 and Location50915 errors happen when Percona Backup for MongoDB attempts to open a $backupCursor during WiredTiger checkpoint operations.

Location50917 error occurs when opening a backup cursor conflicts with an active checkpoint operation Location50915 is a similar timing conflict related to checkpoint operations during backup cursor initialization

These errors typically happen in environments with:

High write workloads that trigger frequent checkpoint operations
Multiple concurrent backup operations
Database nodes under heavy load
Active checkpoint operations during backup initialization

The errors are transient and typically resolve themselves once the checkpoint operation completes. Starting with version 2.13.0, Percona Backup for MongoDB automatically retries opening the backup cursor when encountering these errors.

PBM automatically retries the backup operation up to 10 times with linear backoff. In most cases, the backup will succeed on a subsequent retry attempt without requiring manual intervention.

If your backup continues to fail after automatic retries, do the following:

Check the pbm logs output for detailed error information and retry attempts
Verify that your MongoDB nodes have sufficient resources (CPU, memory, disk I/O)
Ensure there are no ongoing conflicts or resource contention
Consider scheduling backups during periods of lower database activity if the issue persists
Review checkpoint frequency settings if checkpoints are occurring excessively

Can I install PBM on MacBook?¶

You cannot install PBM on MacBook using the package manager. PBM packages are available and tested for Linux distributions only. However, you can run PBM on MacBook as a Docker container. See the Run in Docker guide for guidelines.

Can I connect PBM to MongoDB with disabled authorization?¶

While we don’t recommend disabling authorization for MongoDB due to security considerations, there might be scenarios (such as testing environments) where you need to connect PBM (Percona Backup Manager) to a MongoDB instance without authentication. Follow these steps to ensure a successful setup:

If you’ve set the bindIP configuration parameter for your mongod or mongos processes, ensure that the localhost value is included in the list of allowed IP addresses. The pbm-agent process connects to its local MongoDB node using a standalone type of connection.
Make sure the MongoDB connection URI string for pbm-agents includes localhost as part of the host information.
In the MongoDB connection URI string for the PBM CLI, exclude the authSource parameter as it otherwise enforces authorization.

Last update: January 2, 2026
Created: January 2, 2026