Frequently Asked Questions - MySQL

Can we protect data on non-global zones if the File System iDataAgent is installed only on the global zone?

Yes. We can protect file system data on non-global zones if the File System iDataAgent is installed only on the global zone. However, in order to enable consistent backups of application specific data on the non-global zones, you will need to install the corresponding application specific iDataAgent on the non-global zone.

How do we protect MySQL data on a non-global zone?

In order to enable consistent backups of MySQL data on a non-global zone, you need to install the MySQL iDataAgent on the non-global zone.

How do we backup MySQL databases?

We use mysqldump utility to perform backups on MySQL databases. Various storage engines such as InnoDB, MyISAM etc in MySQL server store the tables in different ways.

By default, mysqldump utility will use the –opt flag for databases containing MyISAM tables. The –opt flag uses the –lock tables command that will lock all the tables to be dumped before dumping them for backup. Also, -lock-tables uses READ LOCAL lock which permits concurrent inserts ( inserts at the end of the table) by other sessions while dumping tables.

In the case of transactional tables such as InnoDB, the mysqldump utility uses the --single-transaction flag, which is a much better option than --lock-tables because it does not need to lock the tables at all.

HOW TO attain CONSISTENT BACKUP OF DATABASES HAVING MYISAM AND MYISAM + INNODB MIX TABLES?

We have a way to accept user options to get consistent backup of databases having MYISAM or MYISAM/INNODB mix tables. You can use --skip-single-transaction --lock-all-tables options in the sAdvancedBackupOptions registry key under Options can be supplied to mysqldump utility to get consistent backup.

Do we support NDB cluster configuration for MySQL iDataAgent?

No, we do not support NDB cluster configuration for MySQL iDataAgent.