Thread: Moving a data base between differnt OS

Moving a data base between differnt OS

From
Holger Zwingmann
Date:
Hi,

I just realized that is is possible to do a (backup) copy of a database
by copying the "root folder" within the same OS.

Now, I am wondering if there is a way to copy a data base from one OS to
another in the same way. Would it possible copy a (small) data base from
Linux to MS Windows by simply copying a folder?


Regards,
Holger.
--

Attachment

Re: Moving a data base between differnt OS

From
Bruno Wolff III
Date:
On Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 21:33:32 +0200,
  Holger Zwingmann <holger.zwingmann@p3-solutions.de> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I just realized that is is possible to do a (backup) copy of a database
> by copying the "root folder" within the same OS.

There are some other conditions as well. Postgres needs to be shut down when
you do the copy. The CPU needs to be the same architecture. Postgres should
be built with the same options (some data representations are controlled by
config options). Potentially different compilers (used to build Postgres on
the two systems) could cause problems as well (by changing structure layouts).

>
> Now, I am wondering if there is a way to copy a data base from one OS to
> another in the same way. Would it possible copy a (small) data base from
> Linux to MS Windows by simply copying a folder?

Re: Moving a data base between differnt OS

From
"Jim C. Nasby"
Date:
On Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 03:24:19PM -0500, Bruno Wolff III wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 21:33:32 +0200,
>   Holger Zwingmann <holger.zwingmann@p3-solutions.de> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I just realized that is is possible to do a (backup) copy of a database
> > by copying the "root folder" within the same OS.
>
> There are some other conditions as well. Postgres needs to be shut down when
> you do the copy. The CPU needs to be the same architecture. Postgres should
> be built with the same options (some data representations are controlled by
> config options). Potentially different compilers (used to build Postgres on
> the two systems) could cause problems as well (by changing structure layouts).

And make sure you test thoroughly... there are built-in checks to detect
any incompatabilities, but most people don't try stuff like this so
there could be cases that aren't covered.
--
Jim C. Nasby, Sr. Engineering Consultant      jnasby@pervasive.com
Pervasive Software      http://pervasive.com    work: 512-231-6117
vcard: http://jim.nasby.net/pervasive.vcf       cell: 512-569-9461