Re: BUG #13642: no backup_label file in PG_DATA after pg_stop_backup();

On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 11:27 PM, Amir Rohan <amir.rohan@mail.com> wrote:

> On 09/26/2015 06:30 AM, Jeff Janes wrote:
> > On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 8:16 PM, <amir.rohan@mail.com
> > <mailto:amir.rohan@mail.com>> wrote:
> >
>
> >     Doesn't create the `backup_label`  described in the docs (I'm
> assuming
> >     "cluster directory" means data directory, e.g. $PGDATA):
> >
> http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/continuous-archiving.html
> >
> >
> >
> > Is backup_label present in your *backup*?  That is where it is needed.
> > It is not needed in $PGDATA itself.  It is created in $PGDATA simply so
> > that a copy of it gets included in your backup.
> >
>
> No. Well, there's a backup file in the archive directory that looks like
> it might be /it/ but it's not named `backup_label` (it wouldn't, since
> multiple backups need to coexist).
>
> As mentioned earlier, in the backup procedure docs:
>
> | pg_start_backup creates a backup label file, called backup_label, in |
> the cluster directory with information about your backup, including
> | the start time and label string. The file is critical to the
> | integrity of the backup, should you need to restore from it.
>

The very next item says:

3.  Perform the backup, using any convenient file-system-backup tool such
as tar or cpio (not pg_dump or pg_dumpall).

>
> About 8 paragraphs below (where only the brave have stamina to keep
> reading):
>
> | It's also worth noting that the pg_start_backup function makes a file
> | named backup_label in the database cluster directory, which is
> | removed by pg_stop_backup [Ok, I missed that]. This file will
> | of course be archived as a part of your backup dump file  <...>
>
> But:
> - There's no single "backup dump file" that the file is "part of"
> (creating a .tgz isn't part of the workflow described).


You have to "perform the backup", as quoted above.  You don't have to do it
with tar, and you don't need to name the resulting file ".tgz".  But using
some method or another, you do need to actually take a backup, if your
desire is to have a backup.

Did you create a backup?  If you did not, then no, your backup is not
usable.  If you did, does it include the backup_label file?

Cheers,

Jeff