MariaDB backup from Bacula Systems

Especially High Security MariaDB Backup

Bacula Enterprise’s MariaDB module is used to make both backup and recovery processes for MariaDB data and/or applications much more secure, faster and easier, as well as more efficient. There are multiple different backup and recovery approaches that Bacula Enterprise has for MariaDB data, offering a combination of high reliability, scalability, and performance. Bacula’s MariaDB module was built in a very specific fashion that allows it to be used by any backup administrator – even one without any knowledge of complex scripts or specific MariaDB nuances or operations.

Bacula’s MariaDB module supports both dump and binary backup techniques, while also being capable of automatically creating backups of important MariaDB information, such as user definitions and configuration files. The Point In Time Recovery feature is also available for both Binary and Dump backup modes, and there are also features such as Object filtering available for this module. The module itself works for 32-bit and 64-bit Linux platforms.

When it comes to high-transaction-rate enterprise-level MariaDB databases, it is fairly normal for Recovery Time Objectives to be of critical importance, since many businesses are losing the actual financial value of their business from being offline for too long. This goes for both backup and restore operations, and solutions like Bacula’s MariaDB module are a great solution for these issues – offering some of the fastest backup operations on the market in an easy-to-use interface.

Enterprise MariaDB Backup with the help of Mariabackup

Bacula Enterprise’s MariaDB module integration with Mariabackup creates an especially effective backup process with fast RTOs and no need to lock databases for the backup to commence properly. There is no need for large temporary files, either, making it a favorite solution for users with very large databases.

Databases themselves are restored to a temporary location during the restore process. These databases are then made consistent with Mariabackup’s “Prepare” feature (all of that is performed before the actual modification of a live database commences). That same feature can also be manipulated to a certain degree – if the “Prepare” feature is not initiated at the backup phase, and not at the restore phase, then the restoration process as a whole becomes that much faster – and recovery speed is what a lot of large businesses prioritize when it comes to backup solutions in general.

Dump and binary as backup modes

Dump

MariaDB constantly generates specific types of logs during a database’s life. These logs can be used for either Point In Time Recovery feature, or for replication tasks. MariaDB’s dump mode performs backups for each database separately by default. What this means is that restoring an entire server that has multiple databases in it would be problematic, since database consistency is only checked for each individual database, but not for the entire server as a whole.

Bacula Enterprise’s MariaDB module addresses this issue by also saving log files that are generated for each separate backup – so that it could be possible to use those files later to learn if your entire server is consistent at a specific point in time.

There is also another option available for Bacula Enterprise’s MariaDB module users – all_databases. This option is used to dump all of the existing databases in a server at the same time, ensuring absolute consistency from the get-go. This method saves logs that are generated before the end of this “full backup”, and continues to do so after each subsequent backup to ensure prolonged consistency.

Interaction between Backup and Binary Logs

Binary

The aforementioned Mariabackup utility is used by the MariaDB module to perform binary mode backups for Bacula Enterprise users. Mariabackup is an open-source tool for servers that are working with MariaDB databases, and its biggest draw is that it does not force you to lock databases for them to be backed up, while also offering backup consistency for all of the data.

Interaction between all_databases option and Binary Logs

• Don’t know about Bacula Enterprise’s capabilities? See the enterprise feature list.
• Intrested in backup capabilities for Windows-based systems? Take a look at our Exchange backup and Windows server backup software.