Thread: backup

  Hi!

  I want to make a backup copy of a
database...
What I have to do?

  Do I have just to copy the directory
at

/var/lib/pgsql/base ?

  And to recover the database, I just
have
to unpack it again at

/var/lib/pgsql/base..

  Is that right?

  Thanks for any help...

  Regards,

  Andre'.


-----------------------
Andr� Rauber Du Bois
M.s.C. student at PPGC/UFRGS
dubois@inf.ufrgs.br


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"dubois"<dubois@bol.com.br> writes:
>   I want to make a backup copy of a
> database...
> What I have to do?

pg_dumpall is the recommended answer.

>   Do I have just to copy the directory
> at
> /var/lib/pgsql/base ?

This is NOT sufficient.

Copying the entire $PGDATA directory (not only the base/ subdirectory)
is sufficient, if and only if the database is completely idle while you
do it --- I'd recommend stopping the postmaster to be sure.  Otherwise
you will get inconsistent files.  In particular, you WILL have problems
if $PGDATA/pg_log is out of sync with any table data file.

            regards, tom lane

On Mon, 08 Jan 2001 10:38:13 Tom Lane wrote:
>Copying the entire $PGDATA directory (not only the base/ subdirectory)
>is sufficient, if and only if the database is completely idle while you
>do it --- I'd recommend stopping the postmaster to be sure.  Otherwise
>you will get inconsistent files.  In particular, you WILL have problems
>if $PGDATA/pg_log is out of sync with any table data file.

You will also need to insure that the version of PostgreSQL used in the
recovery process is that same as that used before the failure. The binary
files are not completely portable across versions.

--
Anthony E. Greene <agreene@pobox.com> <http://www.pobox.com/~agreene/>
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