ID #1104

 

We cannot decide that on your behalf! We have provided the most flexible options available including:

* An option to backup a complete database or only individual tables
* An option to add a TIMESTAMP to the backup file name
* An option to backup to a single file or to split the backup into more files
* An option to store the backup files in a single folder or a 'folder tree'

.. but you will need to define your own 'backup strategy' for your own data yourself. Some tables may need several backups per day, for others maybe a single backup per week will do. Most likely it also depends on the type of hosting that you are using and the backups that are being done there with server-side-alone software (such as file-based backups and backup's using the MYSQLDUMP program)

Also it would be practical to consider if you expect that the backup should be used for restoring data. Most often in a production system you would not expect that - and not wish that either! Backups are necessary security precautions and for most people in most situations only that. You do no want and you do not expect the backups should ever be used. However in case you will need to, you probably also would like to be able to identify the backup(s) that should be used quickly and unambiguously! And you would want to only need to restore the data that have been lost or damaged and nothing else!

However if you plan to move data to another server it is a different situation. Then you are certain that the backup will be used for restoring data. Also in a development environment there might be situations where you want to use a backup for restoring (or 'returning to') a standardized setup. In this situation a backup using a single file probably is most practical as it can be restored in a single operation:


So some considerations you will have to do when planning your backup strategy is:

* easy identification of backups.
* easy and safe 'doing away with' unnecessary and old backup data.
* a suitable file size for each backup file.
* ease of restore.

.. but nobody but you can set up the exact strategy that fits your situation.

 

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