What we do is flip the database into hot backup mode, which allows
us to make a consistent backup of the live database files.  This is combined
with the snapshot capability of the NetApp so that we don't have to stay in
hot backup mode for more than a minute or so.  Together, this procedure
minimizes the performance impact of the backup and saves us from needing
redundant diskspace to stage the dump (yes, we've tested restores using this
method).
        "Permanent" refers to archival backups that are meant to last longer
than our (fairly short) standard rotation.  It does not imply that the data
will remain intact until the sun turns into a red giant and consumes the
Earth.  After a year or two, they'll probably just be historical
curiosities.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bort, Paul [mailto:pbort AT tmwsystems DOT com]
> Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 3:20 PM
> To: amanda-users AT amanda DOT org
> Subject: RE: Multiple backup groups
> 
> 
> Incremental backups are at the file level, like Gnutar 
> (exactly like Gnutar,
> if that's the program you're using for backups.) 
> 
> AFAIK, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Informix, MSSQL, et al cannot 
> restore from a
> straight backup of the live database files, and this is never the
> recommended method of backup. You should use the utilities 
> provided by the
> database vendor to dump a copy of the database to a static 
> file on disk,
> then backup that file. I was assuming you were already doing 
> that, and that
> this was a database that was only dumped weekly, with incremental logs
> appearing daily. 
> 
> My understanding of Oracle (search the amanda-users archives 
> for details) is
> that if you're not dumping the database to a file for your 
> backups, you
> essentially don't have backups. (The exception is backup 
> programs that use
> the Oracle API rather than the file system.)
> 
> The no-reuse option can be used for permanent offsites, but 
> you should add
> new tapes to the rotation to keep the number available at the 
> right level. 
> 
> (Just curious: Does "offsite permanently" mean that they're 
> in the same bin
> with the 9-track tapes? Magnetic media doesn't last 
> "permanently" anywhere,
> especially on the big magnet we call planet Earth. Might want 
> to plan other
> storage systems if you really need "permanent". 
>