Re: snapshot backup with WAL files

On 07/29/2011 11:35 AM, Isabella Ghiurea wrote:
> I would like to configure our Pg db for OS file system snapshot
> backup with Pg WAL files, need to know if would be enough in pg db
> to call :
> |*SELECT* *pg_start_backup*('pitr_backup');
> and next take the snapshot and after
> pg_stop the backup and close the WAL files .

This procedure works fine. But note that doing this does not eliminate
the need to save log files using the archive_command. You will end up
with a small number of them, which is an advantage compared to
non-snapshot backup techniques where hundreds of archive logs might
occur during the backup time. But even with using a snapshot backup,
the small number that are referenced in the backup log are still
necessary for the backup to be useful.

As always, your database backup should not be considered useful until
you've done a successful restore using it. That would have discovered
this problem during testing.

--
Greg Smith 2ndQuadrant US greg(at)2ndQuadrant(dot)com Baltimore, MD
PostgreSQL Training, Services, and 24x7 Support www.2ndQuadrant.us