Re: copying a database without dumping it

This link explains lot of useful techniques for backup and restore

http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/static/backup.html

On 12/15/05, Marc Brünink <mbruen(at)smartsoft(dot)de> wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> I know this was asked a lot of times on this mailing list. But actually
> no reply satisfied me :-)
> However: I've a running postgres database. It's about 6 GB big. Now I
> want to copy this database to another host. Clearly pg_dumpall comes to
> the mind. But there're 2 problems:
>
> 1. The new host hasn't got an internet connection. So I've to copy the
> data via DVD. Doesn't sound like a problem, eh? But it is! I've to copy
> the database to 4 different hosts. So let's calculate: 4 hosts, about
> 30 GB of sql statements (plain), therefore about 8 DVDs = lot's of
> annoying DVD changes. Which brings me to the next problem. Time.
>
> 2. All these 4 hosts have to be updated within 2-3 hours. Which is
> simply impossible with a plain text export. If I remember correctly the
> initial import of the data took about 3-4 hours. On a Sun 240. So I'll
> took much longer on a (much slower) i386 system.
>
> Because of these problems I tought about just cp the data folder. This
> didn't work. Is there some sort of evil trick to do so? Is postgres
> binary compatible? (Wouldn't be a huge problem if it's not)
>
> Now I'l try a custom dump. Perhaps this will suffice. But I guess it's
> impossible for a dump to be as fast as a cp. So if a cp would be
> possible I would favour it. Oh, and did I tell: Everything have to be
> done tommorow..... *sigh*
>
>
> Many thanks
> Marc
>
>
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--
Regards
Pandu