Backup a Subversion Repository with svnadmin dump
I recently created a new Subversion repository for a new personal project, and realized I needed to add it to my daily backup script. After a quick bit of searching via Google to refresh my memory, I found exactly what I thought I was looking for:
svnadmin hotcopy /svn /backups/svn --clean-logs
Indeed, O'Reilly's Version Control with Subversion states that svnadmin hotcopy will make a hot copy of a repository, and "is able to make a safe copy of the repository at any time, regardless if other processes are using the repository." However, further research seemed to indicate that the following may be a better option:
svnadmin dump /svn > /backups/svndump-`date %Y%m%d`.dmp
According to several posts on the Subversion mailing list, svnadmin's hotcopy "theoretically needs the correct machine architecture, version of bdb (if it's a bdb repo), and version of Subversion to work"; however, svnadmin's dump could "theoretically be loaded by any future version of Subversion". Whether or not that's actually true, since there are numerous "theoretical" qualifiers, I decided to go with svnadmin dump.
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I automated the process of backing up multiple repositories. Get the script: http://www.hildoersystems.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122:backup-a-subversion-svn-repository-with-this-free-script&catid=52:system-administration&Itemid=74
-Anthony
@Anthony Cool – thanks for posting it!
[...] script for a Subversion repository that runs in a Debian-based VServer. I previously discussed svn backupsand my script was using the same svnadmin dump technique I mentioned in that [...]