Luis Marin <luismarinaray@gmail.com> writes:
> Dear Friends,
>
> Please, somebody knows a good source of information about PostgreSQL 9
> backup strategies for production systems, if you have read a good book with
> this subject, could you share the author and name of the book ?
>
For me, the best sources to start with has been the docs on
postgresql.org. I think these are some of the best docs for an open
source product I've come across. The books I've looked at have been OK,
but few have added any real depth of information.
These days, your backup strategy will be strongly influenced by your
environment (size of databases, data storage infrastructure, whether you
have replication/standby systems, rate of change and how frequently
you need to backup, uptime requirements etc). Given your question, I
would start with just reading the backup and restore section of the
documentation and then come back with specific questions.
IMO the most important part and most overlooked component of a backup
strategy is restoration testing. I've lost count of the number of times
I've seen people get into strife because they had what they thought was
a comprehensive backup strategy only to find the first time they needed
it, it didn't work or was incomplete. Regardless of the strategy you
adopt, ensure you do a full recovery from one of your backups to verify
your strategy works. Make sure you test the restored system to verify
everything is working correctly. Really helps to document things well
too - when you need a backup, it is often during a high stress situation
and these are the times it is easy to overlook important steps. Having
good documentation really makes things easier.
regards,
Tim
--
Tim Cross