Recovering from a Crash or Loss of Data

In a perfect world, data would never be lost or corrupted, but unfortunately, this is not the case. Database crashes, hardware failures, and software bugs can all result in data loss. For this reason, it’s crucial to have a strategy to recover our data if disaster strikes.

Using backup files

One of the most straightforward data recovery methods is using backup files. Backups are copies of our data made at regular intervals and stored safely. In the event of a data loss, we can restore our database to a previous state using a backup file.

In PostgreSQL, we can use the pg_dump and pg_restore commands to create and restore backup files, respectively. The pg_dump command is used to create a backup file in the format of our choice, such as plain SQL, tar, or custom format. The pg_restore command is used to restore a backup file to a database.

It’s essential to test our backup files regularly to ensure they can be used for recovery during a disaster. Additionally, storing backup files in multiple locations, such as on-site and off-site, is a good practice to reduce the risk of losing them.

Using replication