"Bob Powell" <Bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > Hello everyone: > > I have a systems admin that is backing up our Linux computers > (postgres) by backing up the directory structure. This of course > includes all the files that pertain to my postgres databases. I > maintain that using pgdump and creating a file of SQL commands for > restore is a better method by allowing the restore on any linux box that > is running postgress as opposed to having to reconstruct the directory > on another server. You're not guaranteed to get a recoverable database from a filesystem backup unless you (a) take Postgres down during the backup, or (b) use point-in-time recovery (which is documented in the manual). So what you're doing now isn't actually saving your data for you. I would definitely go the pg_dump route unless you want to set up PITR... -Doug
