CODEWITHSUNDEEP
postgresql
JoeG
JoeG

Reputation: 7642

Can I copy the postgresql /base directory as a DB backup?

Don't shoot me, I'm only the OP!

When needing to backup our DB, we always are able to shutdown postgresql completely. After it is down, I found I could copy the "/base" directory with the binary data in it to another location. Checksum the accuracy and am later able to restore that if/when necessary. This has even worked when upgrading to a later version of postgresql. Integrity of the various 'conf' files is not an issue as that is done elsewhere (ie. by other processes/procedures!) in the system.

Is there any risk to this approach that I am missing?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2618

Answers (1)

lavajumper
lavajumper

Reputation: 435

The "File System Level Backup" link in Abelisto's comment is what JoeG is talking about doing. https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/backup-file.html

To be safe I would go up one more level, to "main" on our ubuntu systems to take the snapshot, and thoroughly go through the caveats of doing file-level backups. I was tempted to post the caveats here, but I'd end up quoting the entire page.

The thing to be most aware of (in a 'simple' postgres environment ) is the relationship between the postgres database, a user database and the pg_clog and pg_xlog files. If you only get the "base" you lose the transaction and WAL information, and in more complex installations, other 'necessary' information.

If those caveat conditions listed do not exist in your environment, and you can do a full shutdown, this is a valid backup strategy, which can be much faster than a pg_dump.

Upvotes: 3

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