Re: linux pg pointed to windows partition for db

On Sun, Sep 11, 2005 at 06:36:26PM +0100, mike dixon wrote:
> Tried a couple other places and aren't getting anywhere.
>
> A windows xp program I use uses pgsql; I'd like to create a backup of the db but from within linux without xp running (I run xp in vmware; and the xp db backup will be written to an ext* partition). I have the same rev pgsql installed on xp and linux (8.0.3 IIRC); the xp/pgsql db is on an NTFS partition and I mount the disc read-only.

You'll be unable to start the database with the disk mounted read-only.

If you want to create a backup of the DB you have three options that
are likely to work.

1) Create a filesystem level backup of the data directory

2) Boot the virtual machine, start postgresql and run a pg_dump backup
under XP.

3) Boot the virtual machine, start postgresql and then run a pg_dump
backup under Linux, connecting to the virtual machine over the
VMWare virtual network.

If you remount the NTFS partition read-write (does that work on Linux these
days reliably?) you may well be able to get a linux postmaster to look at
it, but I'd be concerned about trashing the data. Not something to try as
a backup attempt.

Cheers,
Steve

> My problem is two-fold:
>
> 1. What parameters to start the linux pgsql with for this circumstance if not the defaults;
>
> 2. How to point the linux pgsql/pg_dump to the xp pg's data to do the backup.
>
> Can I just start the linux pgsql with its defaults? If so, how do I point linux pg_dump to the pgsql db data in an xp dir ("/mnt/Program Files/Postgresql/8.0/data")?
>
> If linux pgsql defaults aren't good enough for this circumstance, what do I need to change?
>
> Also, if the xp pgsql db requires a pw when working with it under xp, if xp isn't running and I can use the linux pg_dump for this do I still need the xp pgsql pw? Is there any way to pass that to the linux pg_dump on the cmd line so I can put this operation in a script?