Mastering MariaDB Incremental Backup and Restore with Mariabackup

Learn how to perform Mariadb incremental backup and restore using Mariabackup with clear steps. Our Support team is ready to assist you.

Mastering MariaDB Incremental Backup and Restore with Mariabackup

When managing MariaDB, backup strategies can make or break your recovery plan. If you’re looking for a fast, storage-efficient way to protect your database, then learning mariadb incremental backup and restore using Mariabackup is a must. This post walks you through everything you need to do, without fluff.

Step 1: Take a Full Backup First

Before you can create incremental backups, you must start with a full backup. Use the –backup option to perform the backup and –target-dir to specify the location.

$ mariabackup --backup \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/backup/ \
--user=mariabackup --password=mypasswordCopy Code

This command backs up all databases into /var/mariadb/backup. You can check the xtrabackup_checkpoints file in that directory for LSN data.

Step 2: Perform Incremental Backups

Once the full backup is in place, you can start capturing incremental changes. Use the –incremental-basedir to point to the previous backup.

$ mariabackup --backup \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/inc1/ \
--incremental-basedir=/var/mariadb/backup/ \
--user=mariabackup --password=mypasswordCopy Code

To chain more incremental backups, just change the base directory:

$ mariabackup --backup \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/inc2/ \
--incremental-basedir=/var/mariadb/inc1/ \
--user=mariabackup --password=mypasswordCopy Code

This approach allows you to run mariadb incremental backup and restore routines daily or hourly without taking up massive storage.

Step 3: Prepare the Backups for Restore

Once your full and incremental backups are ready, you need to prepare them using –prepare. This process applies changes from the redo log and incremental backups to the base backup.

MariaDB 10.2 and Later

$ mariabackup --prepare \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/backupCopy Code

$ mariabackup --prepare \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/backup \
--incremental-dir=/var/mariadb/inc1Copy Code

# Repeat the last command for inc2, inc3, etc.

MariaDB 10.1 and Earlier

$ mariabackup --prepare --apply-log-only \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/backupCopy Code

$ mariabackup --prepare --apply-log-only \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/backup \
--incremental-dir=/var/mariadb/inc1Copy Code

Repeat the process for each additional incremental directory. This ensures the full backup reflects every change up to the last increment.

Step 4: Restore the Backup

Once preparation is complete, restore using either –copy-back or –move-back. Make sure the MariaDB service is stopped and the data directory is empty.

$ mariabackup --copy-back \
--target-dir=/var/mariadb/backup/Copy Code

Then fix file ownership:

$ chown -R mysql:mysql /var/lib/mysql/Copy Code

Finally, start the MariaDB server.

[If needed, Our team is available 24/7 for additional assistance.]

Conclusion

Mastering mariadb incremental backup and restore using Mariabackup gives you a powerful, low-overhead way to protect your databases. With these simple yet effective steps, you can set up a reliable backup plan that saves both time and disk space. For any WordPress user managing large databases or ecommerce sites, setting up a mariadb incremental backup and restore strategy is non-negotiable. Implement this today, and sleep better tonight knowing your data is safe.