Re: WAL and pg_dump

On 12/23/05, Simon Riggs <simon(at)2ndquadrant(dot)com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 2005-12-23 at 10:09 +1300, Mike C wrote:
> > On 12/22/05, Simon Riggs <simon(at)2ndquadrant(dot)com> wrote:
> > On Tue, 2005-12-13 at 11:18 +1300, Mike C wrote:
> > > All the documentation I've seen for PITR points to having to
> > do a file
> > > system copy of sorts.
> >
> > Yes. There's no other way, but why would you want another way?
> >
> > Mainly because a pg_dump backup takes up a lot less disk space than a
> > filesystem copy (in my case, approx 3.5GB backup from a 25GB db).
>
> What is your backup time in each case, and what is your recovery time?
>
> Is space your limiting factor?

Yes, space is our limiting factor. A pg_dump archive format backup takes
about 40mins for 25GB. A restore IIRC takes about 2 hours. However the size
of the database is expected to grow to about 120 GB within a few months and
by the end of 2006 over 400 GB. The current capacity of our DS 400 SAN is
600 GB. at 400GB my only backup option with the existing hardware is
pg_dump. However I suspect now that I really should be looking at additional
hardware.

Cheers,

Mike