Thread: Dump/Restore compatibility

Dump/Restore compatibility

From
Steve T
Date:
I am building a new server that is running PostgreSQL 8.1.11 under RHEL5. My current 'live' server is PostgreSQL 8.0.3 under FC4 with an FC4 8.0.3 backup server.
What I want to do is to swap the RHEL5 (ie 8.1.11) in as the live and demote the live to backup and the backup to 'spare'. Currently, the live databases are dumped and restored onto the backup box. Can I do the same across the releases - ie dump the 8.1.11 and restore that dump on 8.0.3? 


Re: Dump/Restore compatibility

From
Steve T
Date:
Does anyone here know about this or should I post this on another list?


On Tue, 2008-08-26 at 08:57 +0100, Steve T wrote:
I am building a new server that is running PostgreSQL 8.1.11 under RHEL5. My current 'live' server is PostgreSQL 8.0.3 under FC4 with an FC4 8.0.3 backup server.
What I want to do is to swap the RHEL5 (ie 8.1.11) in as the live and demote the live to backup and the backup to 'spare'. Currently, the live databases are dumped and restored onto the backup box. Can I do the same across the releases - ie dump the 8.1.11 and restore that dump on 8.0.3? 





Steve Tucknott
ReTSol Ltd

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Re: Dump/Restore compatibility

From
Bruce Hyatt
Date:
--- On Wed, 9/10/08, Steve T <steve@retsol.co.uk> wrote:

> Does anyone here know about this or should I post this on
> another list?
>
>
> On Tue, 2008-08-26 at 08:57 +0100, Steve T wrote:
>
> > I am building a new server that is running PostgreSQL
> 8.1.11 under
> > RHEL5. My current 'live' server is PostgreSQL
> 8.0.3 under FC4 with an
> > FC4 8.0.3 backup server.
> > What I want to do is to swap the RHEL5 (ie 8.1.11) in
> as the live and
> > demote the live to backup and the backup to
> 'spare'. Currently, the
> > live databases are dumped and restored onto the backup
> box. Can I do
> > the same across the releases - ie dump the 8.1.11 and
> restore that
> > dump on 8.0.3?
> >

I can't say for sure but I also can't believe that you could restore an 8.1 dump on an 8.0 database.

Bruce




Re: Dump/Restore compatibility

From
Tom Lane
Date:
Bruce Hyatt <brucejhyatt@yahoo.com> writes:
> I can't say for sure but I also can't believe that you could restore an 8.1 dump on an 8.0 database.

It might work if your 8.1 DB isn't actually using any features that
weren't present in 8.0.  But you'd have to test it.  It's not generally
a case that we worry about making work.

            regards, tom lane

Re: Dump/Restore compatibility

From
Steve T
Date:
Tom,
If it works once, would I be safe in thinking that it would then always work - unless obviously any new 'feature' was then used? The databases currently use procedures, triggers, blobs and standard tables. The database is effectively an 8.0 database being moved to 8.1 with the backups being put back on an older box supporting 8.0 again. No new features are being used in 8.1 as the features being used were all present and working in 8.0.

So I current have two Fedora Core servers acting as live/backup. Both are running 8.0.
I am being coerced into using RHEL and so have got another box to act as  the  'new' live server - which leads me to also use 8.1 as the shipped offering. I didn't want to change all the boxes at the same time - as that is too much of a risk - so I simply wanted to install the new server running 8.1 and keep the same 8.0 backup until I can then convert the 'old' live server to RHEL and promote that to the backup.



On Wed, 2008-09-10 at 12:15 -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
Bruce Hyatt <brucejhyatt@yahoo.com> writes:
> I can't say for sure but I also can't believe that you could restore an 8.1 dump on an 8.0 database.

It might work if your 8.1 DB isn't actually using any features that
weren't present in 8.0.  But you'd have to test it.  It's not generally
a case that we worry about making work.

			regards, tom lane

Re: Dump/Restore compatibility

From
Tom Lane
Date:
Steve T <steve@retsol.co.uk> writes:
> If it works once, would I be safe in thinking that it would then always
> work - unless obviously any new 'feature' was then used?

Well, changes in table contents shouldn't really create any new issues,
but changes of DDL might be troublesome.

            regards, tom lane