High Performance MySQL [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Chapter 9. Backup and Recovery

Ask
your favorite system administrator what the least favorite part of
her job is and there's a good chance
she'll mutter,
"backups," with a sullen look on
her face. Running backups ranks right up there with a visit to the
dentist on most people's list of least fun things to
do.^[1]

^[1] If Dr. Huntley ever reads this, Jeremy hopes he
doesn't take it personally.

If you already rely on standard backup software to handle your MySQL
servers, you probably have a false sense of security about backups.
There aren't many popular backup tools that know how
to back up MySQL properly, so that there is no corruption,
half-committed transactions, or other assorted problems.

In this chapter we'll begin by considering why you
need backups in the first place. Then we'll examine
the issues that arise when trying to back up a running database
server, including a look at why most backup software
isn't well suited to MySQL backups. That leads to a
discussion of the various backup-related tools for MySQL and how you
can put them to use. Finally, we'll consider
what's involved in creating a custom backup script.

Most of the how-to material is in the second half of the chapter.
Much of the initial discussion revolves around understanding your
backup options and how to go about selecting the right one.