So to backup Cyrus, I should do the following?: ctl_mboxlist -d /var/backup/mydbbackupfile cp -dPr /var/imap /var/backup/imap cp -dPr /var/spool/imap /var/backup/spool/imap
Would it be better to tar them first, or just copy and then tar later? And to do a full restore? How would I do so? (I assume I'd have to stop the service to restore)... Thank you Thomas Hannan > Michael Frank wrote: > >> I have heard that if I backup the database and/or user files as they >> are being accessed I might corrupt the files. Is this true? If so how >> can I implement an automated backup without taking the service down? I >> need to have the service up 24/7 and am unable to take it down at any >> point. Can anyone point me in the correct direction? >> >> > Simply backing up the files as they are actively being used will not > corrupt them. However, it is possible that the file you backup is not > usable since there is no synchronization between the updates to the > database and the backup program. The best practice discussed here for > restoring inidividual folders is to create an empty folder, restore the > message files themselves, and then reconstruct that folder, so there > is no problem there. For a full restore, to guard against corrupting > important database files I do ctl_mboxlist -d to a text file just > before the backup, and then backup that file. If a full restore is > required, the database can be rebuilt from the text file if necessary. > > -- > John A. Tamplin Unix System Administrator > Emory University, School of Public Health +1 404/727-9931
