Backup & Restore

OrientDB supports backup and and restore operations, like any database management system.

The BACKUP DATABASE command executes a complete backup on the currently open database. It compresses the backup the backup using the ZIP algorithm. To restore the database from the subsequent .zip file, you can use the RESTORE DATABASE command.

Backups and restores are much faster than the EXPORT DATABASE and IMPORT DATABASE commands. You can also automate backups using the Automatic Backup server plugin. Additionally, beginning with version 2.2 of Enterprise Edition OrientDB introduces major support for incremental backups.

NOTE: OrientDB Community Edition does not support backing up remote databases. OrientDB Enterprise Edition does support this feature. For more information on how to implement this with Enterprise Edition, see Remote Backups.

Backups versus Exports

During backups, the BACKUP DATABASE command produces a consistent copy of the database. During this process, the database locks all write operations, waiting for the backup to finish. If you need perform reads and writes on the database during backups, set up a distributed cluster of nodes. To access to the non blocking backup feature, use the Enterprise Edition.

By contrast, the EXPORT DATABASE command doesn't lock the database, allowing concurrent writes to occur during the export process. Consequentially, the export may include changes made after you initiated the export, which may result in inconsistencies.

Using the Backup Script

Beginning in version 1.7.8, OrientDB introduces a backup.sh script found in the $ORIENTDB_HOME/bin directory. This script allows you to initiate backups from the system console.

Syntax

./backup.sh <db-url> <user> <password> <destination> [<type>]
  • <db-url> Defines the URL for the database to backup.
  • <user> Defines the user to run the backup.
  • <password> Defines the password for the user.
  • <destination> Defines the path to the backup file the script creates, (use the .zip extension).
  • <type> Defines the backup type. Supported types:
    • default Locks the database during the backup.
    • lvm Executes an LVM copy-on-write snapshot in the background.

NOTE Non-blocking backups require that the operating system support LVM. For more information, see

Examples

  • Backup a database opened using plocal:

    $ $ORIENTDB_HOME/bin/backup.sh plocal:../database/testdb \
      admin adminpasswd \
  	/path/to/backup.zip

  • Perform a non-blocking LVM backup, using plocal:

    $ $ORIENTDB_HOME/bin/backup.sh plocal:../database/testdb \
      admin adminpasswd \
  	/path/to/backup.zip \
  	lvm

  • Perform a backup using the OrientDB Console with the BACKUP command:

    orientdb> CONNECT PLOCAL:../database/testdb/ admin adminpasswd
orientdb> BACKUP DATABASE /path/to/backup.zip

Backup executed in 0.52 seconds.

Restoring Databases

Once you have created your backup.zip file, you can restore it to the database either through the OrientDB Console, using the RESTORE DATABASE command.

orientdb> RESTORE DATABASE /backups/mydb.zip

Restore executed in 6.33 seconds

Bear in mind that OrientDB does not support merging during restores. If you need to merge the old data with new writes, instead use EXPORT DATABASE and IMPORT DATABASE commands, instead.

For more information, see