Hello, I am using Gitlab 16 CE in Docker.
I need to set up a backup. Is a sufficient backup method to dump the entire virtual machine disk with running Gitlab? I mean a hypervisor (VMware/Proxmox) level dump. Will the backup of the PostgreSQL database (or other Gitlab parts) be consistent? I’m mainly concerned about SQL transactions.
According to this, dumps are not a good idea: Gitaly and Gitaly Cluster | GitLab
I know that the official procedure is to use gitlab-backup create.
I doubt very much any application would say VM snapshots can be considered a good backup. Even if disks are quiesced, you still have the ability to lose transactions if connections are being made and the system is being used.
For Gitlab, as you mentioned the official procedure is the only real way of backing up and the only way you’ll guarantee being able to restore your data to a new VM, or to a new docker container.
2 Likes