| PostgreSQL 8.4.22 Documentation | ||||
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As with everything that contains valuable data, PostgreSQL databases should be backed up regularly. While the procedure is essentially simple, it is important to have a clear understanding of the underlying techniques and assumptions.
There are three fundamentally different approaches to backing up PostgreSQL data:
SQL dump
File system level backup
Continuous archiving
Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each is discussed in turn below.