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mysqlbackupdatabase-backups
Matteo Riva
Matteo Riva

Reputation: 25060

Is copying the /var/lib/mysql directory a good alternative to mysqldump?

Since I'm making a full backup of my entire debian system, I was thinking if having a copy of /var/lib/mysql directory is a viable alternative to dumping tables with mysqldump.

Upvotes: 43

Views: 29107

Answers (5)

seven
seven

Reputation: 2607

I'll go with a strong NO.

From my experience, backing up/restoring raw mysql data files can be used only on the same os/server version. It does not work cross platform (eg. ubuntu/macos) with same server versions nor if mysql server versions are different on same platform.

Percona XtraBackup (innobackupex) from Percona MySQL distro will let you do live & differential mysql backup and serve you the backup files that can be restored by copying to /var/lib/mysql/. You need to be running Percona Server for MySQL to use all of this.

Upvotes: 0

TomDogg
TomDogg

Reputation: 3937

For a complete discussion of the 2 strategies, you need to read this: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/backup-types.html

The currently best free and open-source solution seems to be Percona's: http://www.percona.com/software/percona-xtrabackup

Upvotes: 1

AlBlue
AlBlue

Reputation: 24040

This approach is only going to work safely if you shut the database down first. Otherwise you could well end up in an inconsistent state afterwards. Use the /etc/init.d/mysql stop command first. You can then restart it after the backup is taken.

Upvotes: 6

Etienne Dechamps
Etienne Dechamps

Reputation: 25311

  • Yes
  • Yes if the table is using the MyISAM (default) engine. Not if it's using InnoDB.
  • Probably not, and if there is, you just need to execute mysql_upgrade to fix them

To avoid getting databases in a inconsistent state, you can either shutdown MySQL or use LOCK TABLES and then FLUSH TABLES before the backup. The second solution is a little better because the MySQL server will remain available during the backup (albeit read only).

Upvotes: 38

Joonas Pulakka
Joonas Pulakka

Reputation: 36577

It's perfectly OK as long as you shut down the MySQL sever first and use exactly the same version to retrieve the "backup". Otherwise it isn't.

Upvotes: 3

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