2

I'm using VisualSVN to host a repository on a server that is backed up nightly using Windows' built in Backup and Restore functionality. Is this sufficient or do I need to create a separate task to specifically call svnadmin hotcopy every night?

Any links to documentation would be greatly appreciated.

Larry
  • 235
  • 1
  • 3
  • 10

1 Answers1

3

Using windows backup (or any backup solution that uses disk snapshot, really) is just fine for backing up a SVN repository.

Be aware, however, that no matter what you use for backups, if you need to restore the repository, it is possible that all your SVN client will have to fix their local working copy if they have updated to a more recent version of the repository than the one that is available in the backups. This can result in lost work (or at least the need to manually merge the new code into the "old" repository).

Stephane
  • 6,432
  • 3
  • 26
  • 47
  • Thanks. What if SVN is in the middle of a transaction, i.e. someone is committing, while the backup is running? – Larry Jun 05 '13 at 18:20
  • It won't have any effect: SVN commit are atomic in themselves so a partial commit will just be rolled back. And since you're using snapshots, the disk state is guaranteed to be consistent (you won't have a file in the backup which assumes state N and another file assuming state N+1) – Stephane Jun 06 '13 at 06:45
  • Why the negative vote? At least give an explanation! – Stephane Jun 06 '13 at 12:15