8.11. mysqlhotcopy — A Database Backup Program
mysqlhotcopy is a Perl script that was
originally written and contributed by Tim Bunce. It uses
LOCK TABLES
, FLUSH
TABLES
, and cp
or
scp
to make a database backup quickly. It
is the fastest way to make a backup of the database or single
tables, but it can be run only on the same machine where the
database directories are located.
mysqlhotcopy works only for backing up
MyISAM
and ARCHIVE
tables. It runs on Unix and NetWare.
shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name
[/path/to/new_directory
]
shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name_1
... db_name_n
/path/to/new_directory
Back up tables in the given database that match a regular
expression:
shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name
./regex
/
The regular expression for the table name can be negated by
prefixing it with a tilde
(‘~
’):
shell> mysqlhotcopy db_name
./~regex
/
mysqlhotcopy supports the following
options:
-
--help
, -?
Display a help message and exit.
-
--addtodest
Do not rename target directory (if it exists); merely add
files to it.
-
--allowold
Do not abort if a target exists; rename it by adding an
_old
suffix.
-
--checkpoint=db_name
.tbl_name
Insert checkpoint entries into the specified database
db_name
and table
tbl_name
.
-
--chroot=path
Base directory of the chroot jail in
which mysqld operates. The
path
value should match that of
the --chroot
option given to
mysqld.
-
--debug
Enable debug output.
-
--dryrun
, -n
Report actions without performing them.
-
--flushlog
Flush logs after all tables are locked.
-
--host=host_name
,
-h host_name
The hostname of the local host to use for making a TCP/IP
connection to the local server. By default, the connection
is made to localhost
using a Unix
socket file.
-
--keepold
Do not delete previous (renamed) target when done.
-
--method=command
The method for copying files (cp
or
scp
).
-
--noindices
Do not include full index files in the backup. This makes
the backup smaller and faster. The indexes for reloaded
tables can be reconstructed later with myisamchk
-rq.
-
--password=password
,
-ppassword
The password to use when connecting to the server. Note
that the password value is not optional for this option,
unlike for other MySQL programs. You can use an option
file to avoid giving the password on the command line.
Specifying a password on the command line should be
considered insecure. See
Section 5.8.6, “Keeping Your Password Secure”.
-
--port=port_num
,
-P port_num
The TCP/IP port number to use when connecting to the local
server.
-
--quiet
, -q
Be silent except for errors.
-
--record_log_pos=db_name
.tbl_name
Record master and slave status in the specified database
db_name
and table
tbl_name
.
-
--regexp=expr
Copy all databases with names that match the given regular
expression.
-
--resetmaster
Reset the binary log after locking all the tables.
-
--resetslave
Reset the master.info
file after
locking all the tables.
-
--socket=path
,
-S path
The Unix socket file to use for the connection.
-
--suffix=str
The suffix for names of copied databases.
-
--tmpdir=path
The temporary directory. The default is
/tmp
.
-
--user=user_name
,
-u user_name
The MySQL username to use when connecting to the server.
mysqlhotcopy reads the
[client]
and
[mysqlhotcopy]
option groups from option
files.
To execute mysqlhotcopy, you must have
access to the files for the tables that you are backing up,
the SELECT
privilege for those tables, and
the RELOAD
privilege (to be able to execute
FLUSH TABLES
).
Use perldoc
for additional
mysqlhotcopy documentation, including
information about the structure of the tables needed for the
--checkpoint
and
--record_log_pos
options:
shell> perldoc mysqlhotcopy