Berkeley DB Java Edition
version 3.1.0

com.sleepycat.je.util
Class DbBackup

java.lang.Object
  extended by com.sleepycat.je.util.DbBackup

public class DbBackup
extends Object

DbBackup is a helper class for stopping and restarting JE background activity in an open environment in order to simplify backup operations. It also lets the application create a backup which can support restoring the environment to a specific point in time.

Backing up without DbBackup: Because JE has an append only log file architecture, it is always possible to do a hot backup without the use of DbBackup by copying all log files (.jdb files) to your archival location. As long as the log files are copied in alphabetical order, (numerical in effect) and all log files are copied, the environment can be successfully backed up without any need to stop database operations or background activity. This means that your backup operation must do a loop to check for the creation of new log files before deciding that the backup is finished. For example:

 time    files in                    activity
         environment

  t0     000000001.jdb     Backup starts copying file 1
         000000003.jdb
         000000004.jdb

  t1     000000001.jdb     JE log cleaner migrates portion of file 3 to newly
         000000004.jdb     created file 5 and deletes file 3. Backup finishes
         000000005.jdb     file 1, starts copying file 4. Backup MUST include
                           file 5 for a consistent backup!

  t2     000000001.jdb     Backup finishes copying file 4, starts and
         000000004.jdb     finishes file 5, has caught up. Backup ends.
         000000005.jdb

In the example above, the backup operation must be sure to copy file 5, which came into existence after the backup had started. If the backup stopped operations at file 4, the backup set would include only file 1 and 4, omitting file 3, which would be an inconsistent set.

Also note that log file 5 may not have filled up before it was copied to archival storage. On the next backup, there might be a newer, larger version of file 5, and that newer version should replace the older file 5 in archive storage.

Backup up with DbBackup

DbBackup helps simplify application backup by defining the set of files that must be copied for each backup operation. If the environment directory has read/write protection, the application must pass DbBackup an open, read/write environment handle.

When entering backup mode, JE determines the set of log files needed for a consistent backup, and freezes all changes to those files. The application can copy that defined set of files and finish operation without checking for the ongoing creation of new files. Also, there will be no need to check for a newer version of the last file on the next backup.

In the example above, if DbBackup was used at t0, the application would only have to copy files 1, 3 and 4 to back up. On a subsequent backup, the application could start its copying at file 5. There would be no need to check for a newer version of file 4.

An example usage:


    Environment env = new Environment(...);
    DbBackup backupHelper = new DbBackup(env);

    // Find the file number of the last file in the previous backup
    // persistently, by either checking the backup archive, or saving
    // state in a persistent file.
    long lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup =  ...

    // Start backup, find out what needs to be copied.
    backupHelper.startBackup();
    try {
        String [] filesForBackup =
             backupHelper.getLogFilesInBackupSet(lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup);

        // Copy the files to archival storage.
        myApplicationCopyMethod(filesForBackup)
        // Update our knowlege of the last file saved in the backup set,
        // so we can copy less on the next backup
        lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup = backupHelper.getLastFileInBackupSet();
        myApplicationSaveLastFile(lastFileCopiedInBackupSet);
    }
    finally {
        // Remember to exit backup mode, or all log files won't be cleaned
        // and disk usage will bloat.
       backupHelper.endBackup();
   }
 


Constructor Summary
DbBackup(Environment env)
          DbBackup must be created with an open, valid environment handle.
 
Method Summary
 void endBackup()
          End backup mode, thereby re-enabling normal JE log cleaning.
 long getLastFileInBackupSet()
          Can only be called in backup mode, after startBackup() has been called.
 String[] getLogFilesInBackupSet()
          Get the list of all files that are needed for the environment at the point of time when backup mode started.
 String[] getLogFilesInBackupSet(long lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup)
          Get the minimum list of files that must be copied for this backup.
 void startBackup()
          Start backup mode in order to determine the definitive backup set needed for this point in time.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
 

Constructor Detail

DbBackup

public DbBackup(Environment env)
         throws DatabaseException
DbBackup must be created with an open, valid environment handle. If the environment directory has read/write permissions, the environment handle must be configured for read/write.

Throws:
DatabaseException
Method Detail

startBackup

public void startBackup()
                 throws DatabaseException
Start backup mode in order to determine the definitive backup set needed for this point in time. After calling this method, log cleaning will be disabled until endBackup() is called. Be sure to call endBackup() to re-enable log cleaning or disk space usage will bloat.

Throws:
DatabaseException

endBackup

public void endBackup()
               throws DatabaseException
End backup mode, thereby re-enabling normal JE log cleaning.

Throws:
DatabaseException

getLastFileInBackupSet

public long getLastFileInBackupSet()
                            throws DatabaseException
Can only be called in backup mode, after startBackup() has been called.

Returns:
the file number of the last file in the current backup set. Save this value to reduce the number of files that must be copied at the next backup session.
Throws:
DatabaseException

getLogFilesInBackupSet

public String[] getLogFilesInBackupSet()
                                throws DatabaseException
Get the list of all files that are needed for the environment at the point of time when backup mode started. Can only be called in backup mode, after startBackup() has been called.

Returns:
the names of all files in the backup set, sorted in alphabetical order.
Throws:
DatabaseException

getLogFilesInBackupSet

public String[] getLogFilesInBackupSet(long lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup)
                                throws DatabaseException
Get the minimum list of files that must be copied for this backup. This consists of the set of backup files that are greater than the last file copied in the previous backup session. Can only be called in backup mode, after startBackup() has been called.

Parameters:
lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup - file number of last file copied in the last backup session, obtained from getLastFileInBackupSet().
Returns:
the names of all the files in the backup set that come after lastFileCopiedInPrevBackup.
Throws:
DatabaseException

Berkeley DB Java Edition
version 3.1.0

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