Hot Backup for Database Content: Highway to Efficiency
Handy Backup provides a function of hot backup, a technique of database backup when data moved to safe place without stopping the database engine or interrupting data operations with database content. It also allows "cold" backup, i.e. saving data from databases when disconnecting all users.
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Hot and Cold Backup
A method called "cold backup" operates with data on the stopped database engine or inactive particular database, forcing all database-related processes to quit. It is time-consuming and can cause discomfort for daily job. Therefore, hot backup is a key to effective managing of every database safety.
Database backup often manipulates with tremendous amounts of data, paralleling and optimizing every step of workflow. Here, any little problem or delay can spoil an overall efficiency, which, in turn, can cause time and financial losses.
Note: The solution allowing hot backup for databases as possible is always a preferable method of database backup.
Hot Backup Trivia
Hot backup is useful for medium or moderately large amounts of data when a lot of users or processes trying to get an access to these data simultaneously. Application of hot backup technique in this situation allows saving much time and money for database-depending business activity.
Cold backup is faster when a matter is a tremendous amount of different data needed to be stored in some safe place. Therefore, the cold backup is a method of keeping the database content for such actions as seeding or replication. See an example when a "cold" backup is the most convenient way - Jira backup.
For all daily activities, the preferred method of doing it is almost inevitable a hot backup.
Hot Backup and Cold Backup in a Row
In the next table, you can see all features and possible complications of hot backup and cold backup.
| Hot backup | Cold backup |
| Works with opened databases | Requires database disconnection |
| Saves data on-the-fly, with possible transactions | Saves consistent, once-written data |
| Requires no user or server shutdowns | Operates only after shutdown of a DBMS |
| Run often without any preparations | Requires stopping servers or disconnecting users |
| Utilizes internal database API and services | Access on file level, possible with no API |
Table 1. Comparing Hot backup and Cold backup
Database Hot Backup Using ODBC
ODBC standard is a type of database driver, which supports almost all modern database engines. ODBC drivers can operate for modern SQL-based systems as well as for venerable database engines. If the ODBC supports hot backup is a completely matter of that particular ODBC driver.
Handy Backup can work with every ODBC driver using the Database plug-in. Hot backup is completely possible when the ODBC driver allows it. No special actions are required; Handy backup will select hot backup automatically if it is ever possible. To use the Database plug-in you must install the specific ODBC driver for your database firstly.
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Handy Backup Small Business
To make use of the database backup plug-ins, you need the Small Business edition of our backup software for business. You can try it for 30 days for free!
A Common Solution for Non-SQL Databases
Using the ODBC driver and Database plug-in is a main method of backup Access database, Firebird DB and FoxPro. For more information about using Database plug-in for hot backup, please read about the ODBC backup technique.
Hot Backup Databases Directly
An alternative and much more effective way of hot backup is to use specialized plug-ins for most popular database engines provided by Handy Backup. These plug-ins are acting as bridges between database engine and the front-end user interface common for all Handy Backup tasks.
This way is somewhat more effective and quicker than using ODBC drivers. It also does not require to install anything other than a copy of Handy Backup with an appropriate plug-in included.
Database backup plug-ins: MySQL, MS SQL, Oracle, IBM DB2, PostgreSQL and ODBC
Handy Backup performs hot backup using plug-ins for such database engines as Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Lotus Notes/Domino and IBM DB2.
Plug-ins will automatically select hot backup when possible, for optimizing the backup process without any complications for users (as an example, the hot backup task can even be executed as Windows service, hiding the interface completely).
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Version 8.5.0 , built on September 19, 2023. 116 MB
30-day full-featured trial period
Handy Backup can perform hot and cold database backup in a most efficient way,
depending of user needs and overall organization of data processing.