🔄 5.PostgreSQL 17: Incremental Backups with pg_basebackup

 PostgreSQL 17 introduces incremental backup support in the built-in tool pg_basebackup, a long-awaited feature for database administrators seeking more efficient backup strategies.

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🚀 Key Highlights

1. New Feature:
2. Incremental backup is now supported natively with pg_basebackup.
3. Efficiency:
4. Only the data that has changed since the last backup is backed up—saving time and storage.

• Optimal Backup Strategy:

  📦 Weekly full backup
• ♻️ Daily incremental backups
• 📚 Continuous WAL archiving
• 
  
• 1.PostgreSQL 17 introduces a new feature called incremental backup with pg_basebackup
• 2.They provide flexibility and efficiency by only backing up the data that has changed since the last backup.
• 3.Ideal backup schedule might include one full backup weekly , daily incremental backup, and continuous write-ahead log backups.
• 4.Recovery process can be speed up considerably by taking regular full backup and adding incremental backup of replaying all the data changes (WAL) from last full backup.

Faster Recovery:
Recovery combines the last full backup + incremental backups + WAL to restore to a specific point in time quickly.

🧪 Syntax

pg_basebackup --incremental=<path_to_previous_manifest> -D <destination_directory>

✅ Example:

pg_basebackup --incremental=/var/fullbackup/backup_manifest -D /var/incr_backup/
--incremental: Path to the backup manifest from the last full or incremental backup.

-D: Destination directory where the incremental backup will be stored.

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📄 What is a backup_manifest?

1. It’s a JSON file automatically created during a backup.
2. Contains a list of files, checksums, and other metadata.
3. PostgreSQL uses it to determine what changed since the last backup.

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📌 Important Notes

1. You must retain the manifest file from your previous backup for the next incremental run.
2. Incremental backups require a full backup as a base.
3. Make sure the destination directory (-D) is empty or non-conflicting.

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🧰 Useful Tips

• Use --write-recovery-conf with pg_basebackup if you want to prepare a standby or restore-ready directory.
• Combine with pg_compresslog or wal-g for efficient WAL management.

Demo : Incremental-backup-demo-using