Databases Beginner

What is Database Backup?

The process of creating copies of database data to protect against data loss from failures, corruption, or human error.

Backup strategies include logical backups (pg_dump — SQL statements to recreate data), physical backups (file-level copies of data directory), and continuous archiving (WAL shipping for point-in-time recovery).

The 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of data, on 2 different media types, with 1 offsite copy. Test restores regularly — an untested backup is not a backup. Automate backups with cron and monitor for failures. Cloud providers offer managed backup solutions.

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Related Terms

A data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on database tables at the cost of additional storage.

A technique of dividing large database tables into smaller, more manageable segments while maintaining a single logical table.

A database command that shows how the query planner will execute a SQL query, revealing join methods, scan types, and estimated costs.

Database Connection Pooling

A technique that maintains a cache of database connections for reuse, reducing the overhead of creating new connections.

A distributed search and analytics engine built on Apache Lucene, optimized for full-text search and log analysis.

An open-source, in-memory data store used as a database, cache, message broker, and queue with sub-millisecond response times.

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