Synopsis

gpcrondump -x database_name 
   [-s schema | -S schema | -t schema.table | -T schema.table] 
   [--table-file=filename | --exclude-table-file=filename] 
   [--schema-file=filename | --exclude-schema-file=filename] 
   [-u backup_directory] [-R post_dump_script] [--incremental] 
   [-K timestamp [--list-backup-files] ]
   [--prefix prefix_string [--list-filter-tables] [-c] [-z] [-r] 
   [-f free_space_percent] [-b] [-h] [-j | -k] [-g] [-G] [-C] 
   [-d master_data_directory] [-B parallel_processes] [-a] [-q]
   [-y reportfile] [-l logfile_directory]
   [--email-file path_to_file] [-v]
   { [-E encoding] [--inserts | --column-inserts] [--oids] 
     [--no-owner | --use-set-session-authorization] [--no-privileges] 
     [--rsyncable]
     { [--ddboost [--replicate --max-streams max_IO_streams
     [--ddboost-skip-ping] ] ] } | 
     { [--netbackup-service-host netbackup_server
     --netbackup-policy netbackup_policy
     --netbackup-schedule netbackup_schedule [--netbackup-block-size size] ]
     [--netbackup-keyword keyword] ] } }

gpcrondump --ddboost-host ddboost_hostname
   [--ddboost-host ddboost_hostname ... ]
   --ddboost-user ddboost_user --ddboost-backupdir backup_directory 
   [--ddboost-remote] [--ddboost-skip-ping] 

gpcrondump --ddboost-config-remove

gpcrondump -o

gpcrondump -? 

gpcrondump --version

Description

The gpcrondump utility dumps the contents of a database into SQL script files, which can then be used to restore the database schema and user data at a later time using gpdbrestore. During a dump operation, users will still have full access to the database.

By default, dump files are created in their respective master and segment data directories in a directory named db_dumps/YYYYMMDD. The data dump files are compressed by default using gzip.

gpcrondump allows you to schedule routine backups of a Greenplum database using cron (a scheduling utility for UNIX operating systems). Cron jobs that call gpcrondump should be scheduled on the master host.

Options

-a (do not prompt)

Do not prompt the user for confirmation.

-b (bypass disk space check)

Bypass disk space check. The default is to check for available disk space, unless --ddboost is specified. When using Data Domain Boost, this option is always enabled.

Note: Bypassing the disk space check generates a warning message. With a warning message, the return code for gpcrondump is 1 if the dump is successful. (If the dump fails, the return code is 2, in all cases.)

-B parallel_processes

The number of segments to check in parallel for pre/post-dump validation. If not specified, the utility will start up to 60 parallel processes depending on how many segment instances it needs to dump.

-c (clear old dump files first)

Specify this option to delete old backups before performing a back up. In the db_dumps directory, the directory where the name is the oldest date is deleted. If the directory name is the current date, the directory is not deleted. The default is to not delete old backup files.

The deleted directory might contain files from one or more backups.

Warning: Before using this option, ensure that incremental backups required to perform the restore are not deleted. The gpdbrestore utility option --list-backup lists the backup sets required to perform a backup.

If --ddboost is specified, only the old files on Data Domain Boost are deleted.

This option is not supported with the -u option.

-C (clean catalog before restore)

Clean out the catalog schema prior to restoring database objects. gpcrondump adds the DROP command to the SQL script files when creating the backup files. When the script files are used by the gpdbrestore utility to restore database objects, the DROP commands remove existing database objects before restoring them.

If --incremental is specified and the files are on NFS storage, the -C option is not supported. The database objects are not dropped if the -C option is specified.

--column-inserts

Dump data as INSERT commands with column names.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

-d master_data_directory

The master host data directory. If not specified, the value set for $MASTER_DATA_DIRECTORY will be used.

--ddboost [--replicate --max-streams max_IO_streams [--ddboost-skip-ping] ]

Use Data Domain Boost for this backup. Before using Data Domain Boost, set up the Data Domain Boost credential, as described in the next option below.

If --ddboost is specified, the -z option (uncompressed) is recommended.

Backup compression (turned on by default) should be turned off with the -z option. Data Domain Boost will deduplicate and compress the backup data before sending it to the Data Domain system.

--replicate --max-streams max_IO_streams is optional. If you specify this option, gpcrondump replicates the backup on the remote Data Domain server after the backup is complete on the primary Data Domain server. max_IO_streams specifies the maximum number of Data Domain I/O streams that can be used when replicating the backup set on the remote Data Domain server from the primary Data Domain server.

You can use gpmfr to replicate a backup if replicating a backup with gpcrondump takes a long time and prevents other backups from occurring. Only one instance of gpcrondump can be running at a time. While gpcrondump is being used to replicate a backup, it cannot be used to create a backup.

You can run a mixed backup that writes to both a local disk and Data Domain. If you want to use a backup directory on your local disk other than the default, use the –u option. Mixed backups are not supported with incremental backups. For more information about mixed backups and Data Domain Boost, see "Backing Up and Restoring Databases" in the Greenplum Database Administrator Guide.

Important: Never use the Greenplum Database default backup options with Data Domain Boost.

To maximize Data Domain deduplication benefits, retain at least 30 days of backups.

Note: The -b, -c, -f, -G, -g, -R, and -u options change if --ddboost is specified. See the options for details.

The DDBoost backup options are not supported if the NetBackup options are specified.

--ddboost-host ddboost_hostname

[--ddboost-host ddboost_hostname ...] --ddboost-user ddboost_user --ddboost-backupdir backup_directory

[--ddboost-remote] [--ddboost-skip-ping]

Sets the Data Domain Boost credentials. Do not combine this options with any other gpcrondump options. Do not enter just one part of this option.

ddboost_hostname is the IP address (or hostname associated to the IP) of the host. There is a 30-character limit. If you use two or more network connections to connect to the Data Domain system, specify each connection with the --ddboost-host option.

ddboost_user is the Data Domain Boost user name. There is a 30-character limit.

backup_directory is the location for the backup files, configuration files, and global objects on the Data Domain system. The location on the system is GPDB/backup_directory.

--ddboost-remote is optional. Indicates that the configuration parameters are for the remote Data Domain system that is used for backup replication Data Domain Boost managed file replication.

For example:

gpcrondump --ddboost-host 172.28.8.230 --ddboost-user ddboostusername --ddboost-backupdir gp_production

After running gpcrondump with these options, the system verifies the limits on the host and user names and prompts for the Data Domain Boost password. Enter the password when prompted; the password is not echoed on the screen. There is a 40-character limit on the password that can include lowercase letters (a-z), uppercase letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and special characters ($, %, #, +, etc.).

The system verifies the password. After the password is verified, the system creates encrypted DDBOOST_CONFIG files in the user's home directory.

In the example, the --ddboost-backupdir option specifies the backup directory gp_production in the Data Domain Storage Unit GPDB.

Note: If there is more than one operating system user using Data Domain Boost for backup and restore operations, repeat this configuration process for each of those users.

Important: Set up the Data Domain Boost credential before running any Data Domain Boost backups with the --ddboost option, described above.

--ddboost-config-remove

Removes all Data Domain Boost credentials from the master and all segments on the system. Do not enter this option with any other gpcrondump option.

--ddboost-skip-ping

Specify this option to skip the ping of a Data Domain system. When working with a Data Domain system, ping is used to ensure that the Data Domain system is reachable. If the Data Domain system is configured to block ICMP ping probes, specify this option.

-E encoding

Character set encoding of dumped data. Defaults to the encoding of the database being dumped. See the Greenplum Database Reference Guide for the list of supported character sets.

-email-file path_to_file

Specify the fully-qualified location of the YAML file that contains the customized Subject and From lines that are used when gpcrondump sends notification emails about a database back up.

For information about the format of the YAML file, see File Format for Customized Emails.

-f free_space_percent

When checking that there is enough free disk space to create the dump files, specifies a percentage of free disk space that should remain after the dump completes. The default is 10 percent.

This is option is not supported if --ddboost or --incremental is specified.

-g (copy config files)

Secure a copy of the master and segment configuration files postgresql.conf, pg_ident.conf, and pg_hba.conf. These configuration files are dumped in the master or segment data directory to db_dumps/YYYYMMDD/config_files_timestamp.tar.

If --ddboost is specified, the backup is located on the default storage unit in the directory specified by --ddboost-backupdir when the Data Domain Boost credentials were set.

-G (dump global objects)

Use pg_dumpall to dump global objects such as roles and tablespaces. Global objects are dumped in the master data directory to db_dumps/YYYYMMDD/gp_global_1_1_timestamp.

If --ddboost is specified, the backup is located on the default storage unit in the directory specified by --ddboost-backupdir when the Data Domain Boost credentials were set.

-h (record dump details)

Record details of database dump in database table public.gpcrondump_history in database supplied via -x option. Utility will create table if it does not currently exist.

--incremental (backup changes to append-optimized tables)

Adds an incremental backup to a backup set. When performing an incremental backup, the complete backup set created prior to the incremental backup must be available. The complete backup set includes the following backup files:

• The last full backup before the current incremental backup
• All incremental backups created between the time of the full backup the current incremental backup

An incremental backup is similar to a full back up except for append-optimized tables, including column-oriented tables. An append-optimized table is backed up only if one of the following operations was performed on the table after the last backup.

ALTER TABLE 
INSERT 
DELETE 
UPDATE 
TRUNCATE 
DROP and then re-create the table

For partitioned append-optimized tables, only the changed table partitions are backed up.

The -u option must be used consistently within a backup set that includes a full and incremental backups. If you use the -u option with a full backup, you must use the -u option when you create incremental backups that are part of the backup set that includes the full backup.

You can create an incremental backup for a full backup of set of database tables. When you create the full backup, specify the --prefix option to identify the backup. To include a set of tables in the full backup, use either the -t option or --table-file option. To exclude a set of tables, use either the -T option or the --exclude-table-file option. See the description of the option for more information on its use.

To create an incremental backup based on the full backup of the set of tables, specify the option --incremental and the --prefix option with the string specified when creating the full backup. The incremental backup is limited to only the tables in the full backup.

Warning: gpcrondump does not check for available disk space prior to performing an incremental backup.

Important: An incremental back up set, a full backup and associated incremental backups, must be on a single device. For example, a the backups in a backup set must all be on a file system or must all be on a Data Domain system.

--inserts

Dump data as INSERT, rather than COPY commands.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

-j (vacuum before dump)

Run VACUUM before the dump starts.

-K timestamp [--list-backup-files]

Specify the timestamp that is used when creating a backup. The timestamp is 14-digit string that specifies a date and time in the format yyyymmddhhmmss. The date is used for backup directory name. The date and time is used in the backup file names. If -K timestamp is not specified, a timestamp is generated based on the system time.

When adding a backup to set of backups, gpcrondump returns an error if the timestamp does not specify a date and time that is more recent than all other backups in the set.

--list-backup-files is optional. When you specify both this option and the -K timestamp option, gpcrondump does not perform a backup. gpcrondump creates two text files that contain the names of the files that will be created when gpcrondump backs up a Greenplum database. The text files are created in the same location as the backup files.

The file names use the timestamp specified by the -K timestamp option and have the suffix _pipes and _regular_files. For example:

gp_dump_20130514093000_pipes
gp_dump_20130514093000_regular_files

The _pipes file contains a list of file names that be can be created as named pipes. When gpcrondump performs a backup, the backup files will generate into the named pipes. The _regular_files file contains a list of backup files that must remain regular files. gpcrondump and gpdbrestore use the information in the regular files during backup and restore operations. To backup a complete set of Greenplum Database backup files, the files listed in the _regular_files file must also be backed up after the completion of the backup job.

To use named pipes for a backup, you need to create the named pipes on all the Greenplum Database and make them writeable before running gpcrondump.

If --ddboost is specified, -K timestamp [--list-backup-files] is not supported.

-k (vacuum after dump)

Run VACUUM after the dump has completed successfully.

-l logfile_directory

The directory to write the log file. Defaults to ~/gpAdminLogs.

--netbackup-block-size size

Specify the block size, in bytes, of data being transferred to the Symantec NetBackup server. The default is 512 bytes.

NetBackup options are not supported if DDBoost backup options are specified.

--netbackup-keyword keyword

Specify a keyword for the backup that is transferred to the Symantec NetBackup server. NetBackup adds the keyword property and the specified keyword value to the NetBackup .img files that are created for the backup.

The minimum length is 1 character, and the maximum length is 100 characters.

NetBackup options are not supported if DDBoost backup options are specified.

--netbackup-policy netbackup_policy

The name of the NetBackup policy created for backing up Greenplum Database.

NetBackup options are not supported if DDBoost backup options are specified.

--netbackup-service-host netbackup_server

The NetBackup master server that Greenplum Database connects to when backing up to NetBackup.

NetBackup options are not supported if DDBoost backup options are specified.

--netbackup-schedule netbackup_schedule

The name of the NetBackup schedule created for backing up Greenplum Database.

NetBackup options are not supported if DDBoost backup options are specified

--no-owner

Do not output commands to set object ownership.

--no-privileges

Do not output commands to set object privileges (GRANT/REVOKE commands).

-o (clear old dump files only)

Clear out old dump files only, but do not run a dump. This will remove the oldest dump directory except the current date's dump directory. All dump sets within that directory will be removed.

Warning: Before using this option, ensure that incremental backups required to perform the restore are not deleted. The gpdbrestore utility option --list-backup lists the backup sets required to perform a restore.

If --ddboost is specified, only the old files on Data Domain Boost are deleted.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

--oids

Include object identifiers (oid) in dump data.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

--prefix prefix_string [--list-filter-tables]

Prepends prefix_string followed by an underscore character (_) to the names of all the backup files created during a backup.

--list-filter-tables is optional. When you specify both options, gpcrondump does not perform a backup. For the full backup created by gpcrondump that is identified by the prefix-string, the tables that were included or excluded for the backup are listed. You must also specify the --incremental option if you specify the --list-filter-tables option.

If --ddboost is specified, --prefixprefix_string [--list-filter-tables] is not supported.

-q (no screen output)

Run in quiet mode. Command output is not displayed on the screen, but is still written to the log file.

-r (rollback on failure)

Rollback the dump files (delete a partial dump) if a failure is detected. The default is to not rollback.

Note: This option is not supported if --ddboost is specified.

-R post_dump_script

The absolute path of a script to run after a successful dump operation. For example, you might want a script that moves completed dump files to a backup host. This script must reside in the same location on the master and all segment hosts.

--rsyncable

Passes the --rsyncable flag to the gzip utility to synchronize the output occasionally, based on the input during compression. This synchronization increases the file size by less than 1% in most cases. When this flag is passed, the rsync(1) program can synchronize compressed files much more efficiently. The gunzip utility cannot differentiate between a compressed file created with this option, and one created without it.

-s schema_name

Dump all the tables that are qualified by the specified schema in the database. The -s option can be specified multiple times. System catalog schemas are not supported. If you want to specify multiple schemas, you can also use the --schema-file=filename option in order not to exceed the maximum token limit.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, the -s option cannot be specified with the -t option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

-S schema_name

A schema name to exclude from the database dump. The -S option can be specified multiple times. If you want to specify multiple schemas, you can also use the --exclude-schema-file=filename option in order not to exceed the maximum token limit.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this option cannot be specified with the -t option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

-t schema.table_name

Dump only the named table in this database. The -t option can be specified multiple times. If you want to specify multiple tables, you can also use the --table-file=filename option in order not to exceed the maximum token limit.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this option cannot be specified with the -s option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

-T schema.table_name

A table name to exclude from the database dump. The -T option can be specified multiple times. If you want to specify multiple tables, you can also use the --exclude-table-file=filename option in order not to exceed the maximum token limit.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this option cannot be specified with the -s option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

--exclude-schema-file=filename

Excludes all the tables that are qualified by the specified schemas listed in the filename from the database dump. The file filename contains any number of schemas, listed one per line.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this option cannot be specified with the -t option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

--exclude-table-file=filename

Excludes all tables listed in the filename from the database dump. The file filename contains any number of tables, listed one per line.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this cannot be specified with the -s option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

--schema-file=filename

Dumps only the tables that are qualified by the schemas listed in the filename. The file filename contains any number of schemas, listed one per line.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this option cannot be specified with the -t option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

--table-file=filename

Dumps only the tables listed in the filename. The file filename contains any number of tables, listed one per line.

Only a set of tables or set of schemas can be specified. For example, this cannot be specified with the -s option.

If --incremental is specified, this option is not supported.

-u backup_directory

Specifies the absolute path where the backup files will be placed on each host. If the path does not exist, it will be created, if possible. If not specified, defaults to the data directory of each instance to be backed up. Using this option may be desirable if each segment host has multiple segment instances as it will create the dump files in a centralized location rather than the segment data directories.

Note: This option is not supported if --ddboost is specified.

--use-set-session-authorization

Use SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION commands instead of ALTER OWNER commands to set object ownership.

-v | --verbose

Specifies verbose mode.

--version (show utility version)

Displays the version of this utility.

-x database_name

Required. The name of the Greenplum database to dump. Multiple databases can be specified in a comma-separated list.

-y reportfile

This option is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. If specified, a warning message is returned stating that the -y option is deprecated.

Specifies the full path name where a copy of the backup job log file is placed on the master host. The job log file is created in the master data directory or if running remotely, the current working directory.

-z (no compression)

Do not use compression. Default is to compress the dump files using gzip.

Pivotal recommends this option (-z) be used for NFS and Data Domain Boost backups.

-? (help)

Displays the online help.

File Format for Customized Emails

You can configure gpcrondump to send an email notification after a back up operation completes for a database. To customize the From and Subject lines of the email that are sent for a database, you create a YAML file and specify the location of the file with the option --email-file. In the YAML file, you can specify a different From and Subject line for each database that gpcrondump backs up. This is the format of the YAML file to specify a custom From and Subject line for a database:

EMAIL_DETAILS:
    -
        DBNAME: database_name
        FROM: from_user
        SUBJECT: subject_text

When email notification is configured for gpcrondump, the from_user and the subject_text are the strings that gpcrondump uses in the email notification after completing the back up for database_name.

This example YAML file specifies different From and Subject lines for the databases testdb100 and testdb200.

EMAIL_DETAILS:
    -
        DBNAME: testdb100
        FROM: RRP_MPE2_DCA_1
        SUBJECT: backup completed for Database 'testdb100'
    -
        DBNAME: testdb200
        FROM: Report_from_DCDDEV_host
        SUBJECT: Completed backup for database 'testdb200'

Examples

Call gpcrondump directly and dump mydatabase (and global objects):

gpcrondump -x mydatabase -c -g -G

A crontab entry that runs a backup of the sales database (and global objects) nightly at one past midnight:

01 0 * * * /home/gpadmin/gpdump.sh >> gpdump.log

The content of dump script gpdump.sh is:

#!/bin/bash
  export GPHOME=/usr/local/greenplum-db
  export MASTER_DATA_DIRECTORY=/data/gpdb_p1/gp-1
  . $GPHOME/greenplum_path.sh  
  gpcrondump -x sales -c -g -G -a -q 

This example creates two text files, one with the suffix _pipes and the other with _regular_files. The _pipes file contain the file names that can be named pipes when you backup the Greenplum database mytestdb.

gpcrondump -x mytestdb -K 20131030140000 --list-backup-files

To use incremental backup with a set of database tables, you must create a full backup of the set of tables and specify the --prefix option to identify the backup set. The following example uses the --table-file option to create a full backup of the set of files listed in the file user-tables. The prefix user_backup identifies the backup set.

gpcrondump -x mydatabase --table-file=user-tables
  --prefix user_backup

To create an incremental backup for the full backup created in the previous example, specify the --incremental option and the option --prefix user_backup to identify backup set. This example creates an incremental backup.

gpcrondump -x mydatabase --incremental --prefix user_backup

This command lists the tables that were included or excluded for the full backup.

gpcrondump -x mydatabase --incremental --prefix user_backup 
  --list-filter-tables

This command backs up the database customer and specifies a NetBackup policy and schedule that are defined on the NetBackup master server nbu_server1. A block size of 1024 bytes is used to transfer data to the NetBackup server.

gpcrondump -x customer --netbackup-service-host=nbu_server1
  --netbackup-policy=gpdb_cust --netbackup-schedule=gpdb_backup
  --netbackup-block-size=1024

See Also

gpdbrestore