Our backup solution has a new feature: bareos-filedaemon-postgres-python-plugin implemented in Python. The PostgreSQL plugin for Bareos uses the standard API PostgreSQL backup routines.
The plugin requires PostgreSQL 9.x or newer. It’s available for download in the Bareos community repository experimental/nightly. We’re planning to include the new plugin in the upcoming Bareos version 20.x. We’ve also added a new chapter to our manual, describing the installation and the use.
A quick summary of what it does: You notify PostgreSQL that you’re planning a backup using the SELECT pg_start_backup() statement. It then creates a backup of the database files and the configuration. After the backup has finished, you notify Postgres using the SELECT pg_stop_backup() statement. Postgres will write logs with information about the transactions that happened while the file backup proceeded, so called WAL (write ahead logfiles). Finally, the plugin will back up those newly created WAL files.
Features of the new PostgreSQL plugin:
- Incremental backups
- Point in time recovery (PIT)
- Backups that complete quickly and reliably
- Uninterrupted transaction processing during backups
- Saves disk space and network bandwidth
- Higher uptime due to faster restore time