Re: base backup requirements for PITR

Gabriele Bartolini wrote:
> Il 29/11/12 02:52, Andrew W. Gibbs ha scritto:
>> That said, I'm wondering whether I created the base backup with
>> reliably correct procedures or merely was lucky.

> In order to simplify the management of disaster recovery solutions for
> PostgreSQL, we have recently developed and distributed an open source
> project called Barman.
[...]

Gabriele, I understand that you want to spread the word,
but the OP's problem was a different one:

He wants to create a base backup by just copying the
data directory of an 8.4 warm standby server.
There is no possibility to run pg_(start|stop)_backup,
but the documentation seems to suggest that it could work
anyway:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.4/static/warm-standby.html#BACKUP-INCREMENTAL-UPDATED

I wonder if that's true, and I'd assume that you'd
have to backup pg_control first (to assure an old enough
checkpoint), but I don't know enough to answer the
question. I'd like to know myself.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe