MySQL Backups - mysqldump and xtrabackup

Non-Blocking Backups: XtraBackup performs hot backups without locking tables, meaning the database remains available for reads and writes during the backup process. This is crucial for maintaining application availability.

Incremental Backups: XtraBackup supports incremental backups, which capture only the changes since the last backup. This reduces the time and storage space needed for backups compared to full dumps every time.

Blocking: mysqldump can lock tables (depending on options used), which can cause significant downtime, especially on large databases.

Performance Impact: mysqldump can put a considerable load on the server, impacting performance.

Efficient for Large Databases: XtraBackup is designed to handle large datasets efficiently. It directly copies the data files, making it much faster and less resource-intensive than logical backups.

Optimized Storage: Incremental and compressed backups help in managing storage effectively.

Time-Consuming: mysqldump can be very slow for large databases because it converts the entire database to SQL statements.

Storage Intensive: Frequent full dumps consume a lot of storage space.

Point-in-Time Recovery: XtraBackup captures a consistent snapshot of the database and applies the transaction logs to ensure data consistency. This is crucial for point-in-time recovery.

Consistency Across Storage Engines: XtraBackup supports InnoDB and other storage engines, ensuring that backups are consistent across different types of tables.

Potential Inconsistencies: With mysqldump, obtaining a consistent snapshot requires careful management of transactions and locks, which can be complex and error-prone.

Manual Effort: Ensuring consistent backups with binary logs often requires combining multiple tools and scripts, adding to administrative overhead.

Compression and Encryption: XtraBackup supports compressed and encrypted backups out of the box, providing security and storage efficiency.

Streaming: Backups can be streamed to another server, facilitating remote storage and integration with cloud services.

Lack of Built-in Compression/Encryption: mysqldump does not provide native support for compression or encryption. These need to be managed separately.

Complexity: Handling streaming, compression, and encryption typically requires additional scripts and tools, increasing complexity.

Fast Recovery: Restoring from XtraBackup is generally faster because it involves copying data files back to the data directory and applying logs, rather than replaying SQL statements.

Prepared Backups: XtraBackup's --prepare phase ensures that the backups are ready to be restored quickly and efficiently.

Slower Recovery: Restoring from mysqldump involves replaying all SQL statements, which can be very slow for large datasets.

Manual Log Replay: Combining binary logs with a mysqldump backup for point-in-time recovery can be complex and time-consuming.