Backing up repository

[Roger Lipscombe <ro...@1e.com>]

Hi,

 

Currently, we're using hot-backup.py on Windows to snapshot our
repository before backing it up. Two questions:

 

1.	It doesn't seem to be paying any attention to the part where
it's supposed to keep only the last N snapshots. This is causing our IT
bods a bit of grief, because the snapshot directory is filling up. Has
anyone seen this behaviour, or have any suggestions for fixing it?
2.	Do I need to use it at all? Can I backup a FSFS repository while
it's being used? Could we just stop Apache while the backup job's
running, and restart it again in the morning?

 

Regards,

Roger.

 


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Re: Backing up repository

[Roel Schroeven <rs...@fastmail.fm>]

Roger Lipscombe schreef:
> Hi,
> 
>  
> 
> Currently, we’re using hot-backup.py on Windows to snapshot our 
> repository before backing it up. Two questions:
> 
>    2. Do I need to use it at all? Can I backup a FSFS repository while
>       it’s being used? Could we just stop Apache while the backup job’s
>       running, and restart it again in the morning?

I thought the recommended way to backup the repository is with svnadmin 
hotcopy. That's what hot-backup.py uses internally too.

A disadvantage of that approach is that file modification times are 
different each time, even for files that haven't changed. That means 
that dirvish (which I use for remote backups) creates new files instead 
of hard linking to the existing file.


-- 
If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood
on the shoulders of giants.  -- Isaac Newton

Roel Schroeven

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Re: Backing up repository

[Miha Vitorovic <mv...@nil.si>]

"Roger Lipscombe" <ro...@1e.com> wrote on 13.06.2006 10:25:30:

> Hi,
> 
> Currently, we’re using hot-backup.py on Windows to snapshot our 
> repository before backing it up. Two questions:
> 
> 2. Do I need to use it at all? Can I backup a FSFS repository while 
> it’s being used? Could we just stop Apache while the backup job’s 
> running, and restart it again in the morning?
> 

AFAIK, if you simply copy over te FSFS repository while the server is 
active and there is a commit in progress, the only thing that may not make 
it into the copy is this last commit, but it does not make the repository 
backup unusable/corrupt.

If you do your backups at night and you are sure that nobody is using the 
repository at the time, there is no need to shut down Apache - I think it 
only accesses the repository if it is serving a request.

I backup my server by dumping the repository during the night, and I never 
stop Apache while doing it. I never had a problem with backups/dumps 
because of it.

Regards,
---
  Miha Vitorovic
  Inženir v tehničnem področju
  Customer Support Engineer

   NIL Data Communications,  Tivolska cesta 48,  1000 Ljubljana,  Slovenia
   Phone +386 1 4746 500      Fax +386 1 4746 501     http://www.NIL.si