Re: Cloning databases using rsync

David Gaudine <davidg@alcor.concordia.ca> writes:
> I regularly copy all my postgresql data onto another computer and access
> it locally there.  This works if I use pg_dump, transfer the output
> file, and feed that file into psql.  However, I would prefer  to copy
> the databases using rsync instead of pg_dump, because it's simpler and
> faster.  (I know the server has to be down to avoid corruption.)

This should work as long as both machines are identical processor
architectures and have identical Postgres versions compiled with
identical options.  (Note that 8.1 tries harder than previous versions
to detect option mismatch during server startup, but I wouldn't swear
that it's bulletproof either.)  I suspect you've broken one of these
rules.

            regards, tom lane