It doesn't matter how solid your hardware and software is – sooner or later, you will need to go back in time to recover accidentally deleted or damaged data. That is the aim of backups – a safe copy that you can keep for a specific amount of time that allows you to recover from data loss. Being an enterprise-level database cluster, PostgreSQL provides a set of specific tools that allow a database administrator to take care of backups and restorations, and this chapter will show you all the main tools that you can exploit to be sure your data will last any accidental abuse.

Backup and restore isn't a very complex topic, but it's fundamental in any production system and requires careful planning. In fact, with a backup copy, you are holding another exact copy of your database just in case something nasty happens; this extra copy will...