AutoMySQLBackup provides automation for the MySQLDump command line utility.
What does it do?
MySQLDump reads through the databases in either MySQL or MariaDB and saves a backup for each. The number of backups which are retained can be configured.
A periodic backup is made of all MySQL databases.
Installation
Installation is easy, its in the Debian packages
apt install automysqlbackup
There is also a project on Sourceforge for automysqlbackup and a fork on Github.
Backup files
By default saved backups are to be found at
/var/lib/automysqlbackup
Ensure that you have sufficient space on the hard drive for the saved files. It can be easy to eat into space over the course of a month.
You may wish to change the storage place for the database backups. Don’t forget to ensure that the appropriate security access is configured to limit their availability.
Configuration
Configuration options are in the file /etc/default/automysqlbackup. Illustrated below with an example taken from a test server.
# By default, the Debian version of automysqlbackup will use:
# mysqldump --defaults-file=/etc/mysql/debian.cnf
# but you might want to overwrite with a specific user & pass.
# To do this, simply edit bellow.
# Username to access the MySQL server e.g. dbuser
#USERNAME=`grep user /etc/mysql/debian.cnf | tail -n 1 | cut -d"=" -f2 | awk '{print $1}'`
# Username to access the MySQL server e.g. password
#PASSWORD=`grep password /etc/mysql/debian.cnf | tail -n 1 | cut -d"=" -f2 | awk '{print $1}'`
# Host name (or IP address) of MySQL server e.g localhost
DBHOST=localhost
# List of DBNAMES for Daily/Weekly Backup e.g. "DB1 DB2 DB3"
# Note that it's absolutely normal that the db named "mysql" is not in this
# list, as it's added later by the script. See the MDBNAMES directives below
# in this file (advanced options).
# This is ONLY a convenient default, if you don't like it, don't complain
# and write your own.
# The following is a quick hack that will find the names of the databases by
# reading the mysql folder content. Feel free to replace by something else.
# DBNAMES=`find /var/lib/mysql -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d | cut -d'/' -f5 | grep -v ^mysql\$ | tr \\\r\\\n ,\ `
# This one does a list of dbs using a MySQL statement.
DBNAMES=`mysql --defaults-file=/etc/mysql/debian.cnf --execute="SHOW DATABASES" | awk '{print $1}' | grep -v ^Database$ | grep -v ^mysql$ | grep -v ^performance_schema$ | grep -v ^information_schema$ | tr \\\r\\\n ,\ `
# Backup directory location e.g /backups
# Folders inside this one will be created (daily, weekly, etc.), and the
# subfolders will be database names. Note that backups will be owned by
# root, with Unix rights 0600.
BACKUPDIR="/var/lib/automysqlbackup"
# Mail setup
# What would you like to be mailed to you?
# - log : send only log file
# - files : send log file and sql files as attachments (see docs)
# - stdout : will simply output the log to the screen if run manually.
# - quiet : Only send logs if an error occurs to the MAILADDR.
MAILCONTENT="quiet"
# Set the maximum allowed email size in k. (4000 = approx 5MB email [see
# docs])
MAXATTSIZE="4000"
# Email Address to send mail to? (user@domain.com)
MAILADDR="support-alerts@example.com"
# ============================================================
# === ADVANCED OPTIONS ( Read the doc's below for details )===
#=============================================================
# List of DBBNAMES for Monthly Backups.
MDBNAMES="mysql $DBNAMES"
# List of DBNAMES to EXLUCDE if DBNAMES are set to all (must be in " quotes)
DBEXCLUDE=""
# Include CREATE DATABASE in backup?
CREATE_DATABASE=yes
# Separate backup directory and file for each DB? (yes or no)
SEPDIR=yes
# Which day do you want weekly backups? (1 to 7 where 1 is Monday)
DOWEEKLY=2
# Choose Compression type. (gzip or bzip2)
COMP=gzip
# Compress communications between backup server and MySQL server?
COMMCOMP=no
# Additionally keep a copy of the most recent backup in a seperate
# directory.
LATEST=no
# The maximum size of the buffer for client/server communication. e.g. 16MB
# (maximum is 1GB)
MAX_ALLOWED_PACKET=
# For connections to localhost. Sometimes the Unix socket file must be
# specified.
SOCKET=
# Command to run before backups (uncomment to use)
#PREBACKUP="/etc/mysql-backup-pre"
# Command run after backups (uncomment to use)
#POSTBACKUP="/etc/mysql-backup-post"
# Backup of stored procedures and routines (comment to remove)
ROUTINES=yes
Once installed run automysqlbackup as root user and check for the saved files.
You may wish to adjust the day of the week used for the weekly backups and the day of the month defined for the monthly backups.
Schedule Backups
Backups are enabled by default with entries in /etc/cron.daily.
#!/bin/sh test -x /usr/sbin/automysqlbackup || exit 0 /usr/sbin/automysqlbackup
If you wish an entry can be added in the /etc/crontab file.
55 08 * * * root automysqlbackup
In the above example the backup is scheduled to run daily at 8:55.
