Backing Up And Restoring Your MySQL Database
Vinu Thomas

If you've been using MySQL database to store your important data, it is imperative that you make a backup of your data to prevent any loss of data. This article shows you how to backup and restore data in your MySQL database. This process can also be used if you have to move your data to a new server.

Backing up your database

The quickest and easiest way to backup and restore your database would be to use MySQLDump. If you've got shell or telnet access to your server, you can backup MySQL data by issuing the mysqldump command. The syntax for the command is as follows.

mysqldump -u [uname] -p [pass] [dbname] > [backupfile.sql] [uname] - this is your database username [pass]- this is the password for your database [dbname] - the name of your database [backupfile.sql] - the filename for your database backup

To backup your database 'Customers' with the username 'sadmin' and password 'pass21' to a file custback.sql, you would issue the command

mysqldump -u sadmin -p pass21 Customers > custback.sql

Issuing this command will backup the database to custback.sql. This file can be copied to a safe location or a backup media and stored. For more information on MySQLDump, you can check out : http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/mysqldump.html

Restoring your database

If you have to re-build your database from scratch, you can easily restore the mysqldump file by issuing the following command. This method will not work if the tables already exist in your database.

mysql - u sadmin -p pass21 Customers < custback.sql

If you need to restore existing databases, you'll need to use MySQLImport. The syntax for mysqlimport is

mysqlimport [options] database textfile1

To restore your previously created custback.sql dump back to your Customers Database, you'd issue

mysqlimport -u sadmin -p pass21 Customers custback.sql

For more information on MySQLImport, you can check out : http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/mysqlimport.html

Vinu Thomas is a consultant on Webdesign and Internet Technologies. His website is http://www.vinuthomas.com. You can discuss about this article or any PHP/MYSQL related issues in our Discussion Forums: http://www.vinuthomas.com/forum2.html

Learn How to Upgrade, Repair, Speed Up or Build a Computer Step by Step Today!

Find out how to-

• Solve Common Hardware and Software Problems
• Add Memory, DVD and Other Computer Parts
• Make Your PC Run Faster
• Protect Your Computer from Viruses & Pop-ups
• Tips and Tricks for Internet Surfing
• ... and much more!

Read the testimonies below:

"As a small business owner, this video made a world of difference to me. I used to call a computer technician at least once a week to the office for different computer problems. Now, after watching this video, I rarely have to call him, and this saves me time and money. Thank You." Robert Smith

"I got this video for my son who is 14 years old son. You guys did a great job explaining the most complicated sounding things in a way that everyone could understand! The next day, my son replaced a faulty motherboard, cleaned up my hard drive, and fixed a serious Spyware issue my computer had!" Lisa Morgan

For More Details, CLICK HERE NOW!

  Additional Resources