Ubuntu Manpage: barman - Backup and Recovery Manager for PostgreSQL

NAME

       barman - Backup and Recovery Manager for PostgreSQL

DESCRIPTION

       Barman  is an administration tool for disaster recovery of PostgreSQL servers written in Python and main‐
       tained by EnterpriseDB.  Barman can perform remote backups of multiple servers in business critical envi‐
       ronments and helps DBAs during the recovery phase.

CONFIGURATION FILE LOCATIONS

       The system-level Barman configuration file is located at

              /etc/barman.conf

       or

              /etc/barman/barman.conf

       and is overridden on a per-user level by

              $HOME/.barman.conf

CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX

       The Barman configuration file is a plain INI file.  There is a general section called [barman] and a sec‐
       tion [servername] for each server you want to backup.  Rows starting with ; are comments.

CONFIGURATION FILE DIRECTORY

       Barman supports the inclusion of multiple configuration files, through the  configuration_files_directory
       option.  Included files must contain only server specifications, not global configurations.  If the value
       of  configuration_files_directory  is a directory, Barman reads all files with .conf extension that exist
       in that folder.  For example, if you set it to /etc/barman.d, you can  specify  your  PostgreSQL  servers
       placing each section in a separate .conf file inside the /etc/barman.d folder.

OPTIONS

active When set to true (default), the server is in full operational state. When set to false, the serv‐
er can be used for diagnostics, but any operational command such as backup execution or WAL
archiving is temporarily disabled. When adding a new server to Barman, we suggest setting ac‐
tive=false at first, making sure that barman check shows no problems, and only then activating the
server. This will avoid spamming the Barman logs with errors during the initial setup.

archiver
This option allows you to activate log file shipping through PostgreSQL's archive_command for a
server. If set to true (default), Barman expects that continuous archiving for a server is in
place and will activate checks as well as management (including compression) of WAL files that
Postgres deposits in the incoming directory. Setting it to false, will disable standard continu‐
ous archiving for a server. Global/Server.

archiver_batch_size
This option allows you to activate batch processing of WAL files for the archiver process, by set‐
ting it to a value > 0. Otherwise, the traditional unlimited processing of the WAL queue is en‐
abled. When batch processing is activated, the archive-wal process would limit itself to maximum
archiver_batch_size WAL segments per single run. Integer. Global/Server.

backup_directory
Directory where backup data for a server will be placed. Server.

backup_method
Configure the method barman used for backup execution. If set to rsync (default), barman will ex‐
ecute backup using the rsync command over SSH (requires ssh_command). If set to postgres barman
will use the pg_basebackup command to execute the backup. If set to local-rsync, barman will as‐
sume to be running on the same server as the the PostgreSQL instance and with the same user, then
execute rsync for the file system copy. Global/Server.

backup_options
This option allows you to control the way Barman interacts with PostgreSQL for backups. It is a
comma-separated list of values that accepts the following options:

• exclusive_backup (default when backup_method = rsync): barman backup executes backup operations
using the standard exclusive backup approach (technically through pg_start_backup and
pg_stop_backup)

• concurrent_backup (default when backup_method = postgres): if using PostgreSQL 9.2, 9.3, 9.4,
and 9.5, Barman requires the pgespresso module to be installed on the PostgreSQL server and can
be used to perform a backup from a standby server. Starting from PostgreSQL 9.6, Barman uses
the new PostgreSQL API to perform backups from a standby server.

• external_configuration: if present, any warning regarding external configuration files is sup‐
pressed during the execution of a backup.

Note that exclusive_backup and concurrent_backup are mutually exclusive. Global/Server.

bandwidth_limit
This option allows you to specify a maximum transfer rate in kilobytes per second. A value of ze‐
ro specifies no limit (default). Global/Server.

barman_home
Main data directory for Barman. Global.

barman_lock_directory
Directory for locks. Default: %(barman_home)s. Global.

basebackup_retry_sleep
Number of seconds of wait after a failed copy, before retrying Used during both backup and recov‐
ery operations. Positive integer, default 30. Global/Server.

basebackup_retry_times
Number of retries of base backup copy, after an error. Used during both backup and recovery oper‐
ations. Positive integer, default 0. Global/Server.

basebackups_directory
Directory where base backups will be placed. Server.

check_timeout
Maximum execution time, in seconds per server, for a barman check command. Set to 0 to disable
the timeout. Positive integer, default 30. Global/Server.

compression
Standard compression algorithm applied to WAL files. Possible values are: gzip (requires gzip to
be installed on the system), bzip2 (requires bzip2), pigz (requires pigz), pygzip (Python's inter‐
nal gzip compressor) and pybzip2 (Python's internal bzip2 compressor). Global/Server.

conninfo
Connection string used by Barman to connect to the Postgres server. This is a libpq connection
string, consult the PostgreSQL manual (https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/libpq-con‐
nect.html#LIBPQ-CONNSTRING) for more information. Commonly used keys are: host, hostaddr, port,
dbname, user, password. Server.

create_slot
When set to auto and slot_name is defined, Barman automatically attempts to create the replication
slot if not present. When set to manual (default), the replication slot needs to be manually cre‐
ated. Global/Server.

custom_compression_filter
Customised compression algorithm applied to WAL files. Global/Server.

custom_compression_magic
Customised compression magic which is checked in the beginning of a WAL file to select the custom
algorithm. If you are using a custom compression filter then setting this will prevent barman
from applying the custom compression to WALs which have been pre-compressed with that compression.
If you do not configure this then custom compression will still be applied but any pre-compressed
WAL files will be compressed again during WAL archive. Global/Server.

custom_decompression_filter
Customised decompression algorithm applied to compressed WAL files; this must match the compres‐
sion algorithm. Global/Server.

description
A human readable description of a server. Server.

errors_directory
Directory that contains WAL files that contain an error; usually this is related to a conflict
with an existing WAL file (e.g. a WAL file that has been archived after a streamed one).

forward_config_path
Parameter which determines whether a passive node should forward its configuration file path to
its primary node during cron or sync-info commands. Set to true if you are invoking barman with
the -c/--config option and your configuration is in the same place on both the passive and primary
barman servers. Defaults to false.

immediate_checkpoint
This option allows you to control the way PostgreSQL handles checkpoint at the start of the back‐
up. If set to false (default), the I/O workload for the checkpoint will be limited, according to
the checkpoint_completion_target setting on the PostgreSQL server. If set to true, an immediate
checkpoint will be requested, meaning that PostgreSQL will complete the checkpoint as soon as pos‐
sible. Global/Server.

incoming_wals_directory
Directory where incoming WAL files are archived into. Requires archiver to be enabled. Server.

last_backup_maximum_age
This option identifies a time frame that must contain the latest backup. If the latest backup is
older than the time frame, barman check command will report an error to the user. If empty (de‐
fault), latest backup is always considered valid. Syntax for this option is: "i (DAYS | WEEKS |
MONTHS)" where i is a integer greater than zero, representing the number of days | weeks | months
of the time frame. Global/Server.

last_backup_minimum_size
This option identifies lower limit to the acceptable size of the latest successful backup. If the
latest backup is smaller than the specified size, barman check command will report an error to the
user. If empty (default), latest backup is always considered valid. Syntax for this option is:
"i (k|Ki|M|Mi|G|Gi|T|Ti)" where i is an integer greater than zero, with an optional SI or IEC suf‐
fix. k=kilo=1000, Ki=Kibi=1024 and so forth. Note that the suffix is case-sensitive. Glob‐
al/Server.

last_wal_maximum_age
This option identifies a time frame that must contain the latest WAL file archived. If the latest
WAL file is older than the time frame, barman check command will report an error to the user. If
empty (default), the age of the WAL files is not checked. Syntax is the same as last_backup_maxi‐
mum_age (above). Global/Server. log_file
Location of Barman's log file. Global.

log_level
Level of logging (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL). Global.

max_incoming_wals_queue
Maximum number of WAL files in the incoming queue (in both streaming and archiving pools) that are
allowed before barman check returns an error (that does not block backups). Global/Server. De‐
fault: None (disabled).

minimum_redundancy
Minimum number of backups to be retained. Default 0. Global/Server.

network_compression
This option allows you to enable data compression for network transfers. If set to false (de‐
fault), no compression is used. If set to true, compression is enabled, reducing network usage.
Global/Server.

parallel_jobs
This option controls how many parallel workers will copy files during a backup or recovery com‐
mand. Default 1. Global/Server. For backup purposes, it works only when backup_method is rsync.

path_prefix
One or more absolute paths, separated by colon, where Barman looks for executable files. The
paths specified in path_prefix are tried before the ones specified in PATH environment variable.
Global/server.

post_archive_retry_script
Hook script launched after a WAL file is archived by maintenance. Being this a retry hook script,
Barman will retry the execution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an
ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. In a post archive scenario, ABORT_STOP has cur‐
rently the same effects as ABORT_CONTINUE. Global/Server.

post_archive_script
Hook script launched after a WAL file is archived by maintenance, after
'post_archive_retry_script'. Global/Server.

post_backup_retry_script
Hook script launched after a base backup. Being this a retry hook script, Barman will retry the
execution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an
ABORT_STOP (63) code. In a post backup scenario, ABORT_STOP has currently the same effects as
ABORT_CONTINUE. Global/Server.

post_backup_script
Hook script launched after a base backup, after 'post_backup_retry_script'. Global/Server.

post_delete_retry_script
Hook script launched after the deletion of a backup. Being this a retry hook script, Barman will
retry the execution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE (62)
or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. In a post delete scenario, ABORT_STOP has currently the same effects
as ABORT_CONTINUE. Global/Server.

post_delete_script
Hook script launched after the deletion of a backup, after 'post_delete_retry_script'. Glob‐
al/Server.

post_recovery_retry_script
Hook script launched after a recovery. Being this a retry hook script, Barman will retry the exe‐
cution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an
ABORT_STOP (63) code. In a post recovery scenario, ABORT_STOP has currently the same effects as
ABORT_CONTINUE. Global/Server.

post_recovery_script
Hook script launched after a recovery, after 'post_recovery_retry_script'. Global/Server.

post_wal_delete_retry_script
Hook script launched after the deletion of a WAL file. Being this a retry hook script, Barman
will retry the execution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE
(62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. In a post delete scenario, ABORT_STOP has currently the same ef‐
fects as ABORT_CONTINUE. Global/Server.

post_wal_delete_script
Hook script launched after the deletion of a WAL file, after 'post_wal)delete_retry_script'.
Global/Server.

pre_archive_retry_script
Hook script launched before a WAL file is archived by maintenance, after 'pre_archive_script'.
Being this a retry hook script, Barman will retry the execution of the script until this either
returns a SUCCESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. Returning ABORT_STOP
will propagate the failure at a higher level and interrupt the WAL archiving operation. Glob‐
al/Server.

pre_archive_script
Hook script launched before a WAL file is archived by maintenance. Global/Server.

pre_backup_retry_script
Hook script launched before a base backup, after 'pre_backup_script'. Being this a retry hook
script, Barman will retry the execution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an
ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. Returning ABORT_STOP will propagate the failure
at a higher level and interrupt the backup operation. Global/Server.

pre_backup_script
Hook script launched before a base backup. Global/Server.

pre_delete_retry_script
Hook script launched before the deletion of a backup, after 'pre_delete_script'. Being this a
retry hook script, Barman will retry the execution of the script until this either returns a SUC‐
CESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. Returning ABORT_STOP will propagate
the failure at a higher level and interrupt the backup deletion. Global/Server.

pre_delete_script
Hook script launched before the deletion of a backup. Global/Server.

pre_recovery_retry_script
Hook script launched before a recovery, after 'pre_recovery_script'. Being this a retry hook
script, Barman will retry the execution of the script until this either returns a SUCCESS (0), an
ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. Returning ABORT_STOP will propagate the failure
at a higher level and interrupt the recover operation. Global/Server.

pre_recovery_script
Hook script launched before a recovery. Global/Server.

pre_wal_delete_retry_script
Hook script launched before the deletion of a WAL file, after 'pre_wal_delete_script'. Being this
a retry hook script, Barman will retry the execution of the script until this either returns a
SUCCESS (0), an ABORT_CONTINUE (62) or an ABORT_STOP (63) code. Returning ABORT_STOP will propa‐
gate the failure at a higher level and interrupt the WAL file deletion. Global/Server.

pre_wal_delete_script
Hook script launched before the deletion of a WAL file. Global/Server.

primary_ssh_command
Parameter that identifies a Barman server as passive. In a passive node, the source of a backup
server is a Barman installation rather than a PostgreSQL server. If primary_ssh_command is speci‐
fied, Barman uses it to establish a connection with the primary server. Empty by default, it can
also be set globally.

recovery_options
Options for recovery operations. Currently only supports get-wal. get-wal activates generation
of a basic restore_command in the resulting recovery configuration that uses the barman get-wal
command to fetch WAL files directly from Barman's archive of WALs. Comma separated list of val‐
ues, default empty. Global/Server.

retention_policy
Policy for retention of periodic backups and archive logs. If left empty, retention policies are
not enforced. For redundancy based retention policy use "REDUNDANCY i" (where i is an integer > 0
and defines the number of backups to retain). For recovery window retention policy use "RECOVERY
WINDOW OF i DAYS" or "RECOVERY WINDOW OF i WEEKS" or "RECOVERY WINDOW OF i MONTHS" where i is a
positive integer representing, specifically, the number of days, weeks or months to retain your
backups. For more detailed information, refer to the official documentation. Default value is
empty. Global/Server.

retention_policy_mode
Currently only "auto" is implemented. Global/Server.

reuse_backup
This option controls incremental backup support. Global/Server. Possible values are:

• off: disabled (default);

• copy: reuse the last available backup for a server and create a copy of the unchanged files (re‐
duce backup time);

• link: reuse the last available backup for a server and create a hard link of the unchanged files
(reduce backup time and space). Requires operating system and file system support for hard
links.

slot_name
Physical replication slot to be used by the receive-wal command when streaming_archiver is set to
on. Requires PostgreSQL >= 9.4. Global/Server. Default: None (disabled).

ssh_command
Command used by Barman to login to the Postgres server via ssh. Server.

streaming_archiver
This option allows you to use the PostgreSQL's streaming protocol to receive transaction logs from
a server. If set to on, Barman expects to find pg_receivewal (known as pg_receivexlog prior to
PostgreSQL 10) in the PATH (see path_prefix option) and that streaming connection for the server
is working. This activates connection checks as well as management (including compression) of WAL
files. If set to off (default) barman will rely only on continuous archiving for a server WAL
archive operations, eventually terminating any running pg_receivexlog for the server. Glob‐
al/Server.

streaming_archiver_batch_size
This option allows you to activate batch processing of WAL files for the streaming_archiver
process, by setting it to a value > 0. Otherwise, the traditional unlimited processing of the WAL
queue is enabled. When batch processing is activated, the archive-wal process would limit itself
to maximum streaming_archiver_batch_size WAL segments per single run. Integer. Global/Server.

streaming_archiver_name
Identifier to be used as application_name by the receive-wal command. Only available with pg_re‐
ceivewal (or pg_receivexlog >= 9.3). By default it is set to barman_receive_wal. Global/Server.

streaming_backup_name
Identifier to be used as application_name by the pg_basebackup command. Only available with
pg_basebackup >= 9.3. By default it is set to barman_streaming_backup. Global/Server.

streaming_conninfo
Connection string used by Barman to connect to the Postgres server via streaming replication pro‐
tocol. By default it is set to conninfo. Server.

streaming_wals_directory
Directory where WAL files are streamed from the PostgreSQL server to Barman. Requires stream‐
ing_archiver to be enabled. Server.

tablespace_bandwidth_limit
This option allows you to specify a maximum transfer rate in kilobytes per second, by specifying a
comma separated list of tablespaces (pairs TBNAME:BWLIMIT). A value of zero specifies no limit
(default). Global/Server.

wal_retention_policy
Policy for retention of archive logs (WAL files). Currently only "MAIN" is available. Glob‐
al/Server.

wals_directory
Directory which contains WAL files. Server.

HOOK SCRIPTS

       The script definition is passed to a shell and can return any exit code.

       The shell environment will contain the following variables:

       BARMAN_CONFIGURATION
              configuration file used by barman

       BARMAN_ERROR
              error message, if any (only for the 'post' phase)

       BARMAN_PHASE
              'pre' or 'post'

       BARMAN_RETRY
              1 if it is a retry script (from 1.5.0), 0 if not

       BARMAN_SERVER
              name of the server

       Backup scripts specific variables:

       BARMAN_BACKUP_DIR
              backup destination directory

       BARMAN_BACKUP_ID
              ID of the backup

       BARMAN_PREVIOUS_ID
              ID of the previous backup (if present)

       BARMAN_NEXT_ID
              ID of the next backup (if present)

       BARMAN_STATUS
              status of the backup

       BARMAN_VERSION
              version of Barman

       Archive scripts specific variables:

       BARMAN_SEGMENT
              name of the WAL file

       BARMAN_FILE
              full path of the WAL file

       BARMAN_SIZE
              size of the WAL file

       BARMAN_TIMESTAMP
              WAL file timestamp

       BARMAN_COMPRESSION
              type of compression used for the WAL file

       Recovery scripts specific variables:

       BARMAN_DESTINATION_DIRECTORY
              the directory where the new instance is recovered

       BARMAN_TABLESPACES
              tablespace relocation map (JSON, if present)

       BARMAN_REMOTE_COMMAND
              secure shell command used by the recovery (if present)

       BARMAN_RECOVER_OPTIONS
              recovery additional options (JSON, if present)

       Only in case of retry hook scripts, the exit code of the script is checked by  Barman.   Output  of  hook
       scripts is simply written in the log file.

EXAMPLE

       Here is an example of configuration file:

              [barman]
              ; Main directory
              barman_home = /var/lib/barman

              ; System user
              barman_user = barman

              ; Log location
              log_file = /var/log/barman/barman.log

              ; Default compression level
              ;compression = gzip

              ; Incremental backup
              reuse_backup = link

              ; 'main' PostgreSQL Server configuration
              [main]
              ; Human readable description
              description =  "Main PostgreSQL Database"

              ; SSH options
              ssh_command = ssh postgres@pg

              ; PostgreSQL connection string
              conninfo = host=pg user=postgres

              ; PostgreSQL streaming connection string
              streaming_conninfo = host=pg user=postgres

              ; Minimum number of required backups (redundancy)
              minimum_redundancy = 1

              ; Retention policy (based on redundancy)
              retention_policy = REDUNDANCY 2

AUTHORS

       Barman maintainers (in alphabetical order):

       • Abhijit Menon-Sen

       • Jane Threefoot

       • Michael Wallace

       Past contributors (in alphabetical order):

       • Anna Bellandi (QA/testing)

       • Britt Cole (documentation reviewer)

       • Carlo Ascani (developer)

       • Francesco Canovai (QA/testing)

       • Gabriele Bartolini (architect)

       • Gianni Ciolli (QA/testing)

       • Giulio Calacoci (developer)

       • Giuseppe Broccolo (developer)

       • Jonathan Battiato (QA/testing)

       • Leonardo Cecchi (developer)

       • Marco Nenciarini (project leader)

       • Niccolò Fei (QA/testing)

       • Rubens Souza (QA/testing)

       • Stefano Bianucci (developer)

RESOURCES

       • Homepage: <http://www.pgbarman.org/>

       • Documentation: <http://docs.pgbarman.org/>

       • Professional support: <https://www.enterprisedb.com/>

COPYING

       Barman  is  the  property of EnterpriseDB UK Limited and its code is distributed under GNU General Public
       License v3.

       © Copyright EnterpriseDB UK Limited 2011-2022

AUTHORS

       EnterpriseDB <https://www.enterprisedb.com>.

Barman User manuals                             January 21, 2022                                       BARMAN(5)

NAME

DESCRIPTION

CONFIGURATION FILE LOCATIONS

CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX

CONFIGURATION FILE DIRECTORY

OPTIONS

HOOK SCRIPTS

EXAMPLE

SEE ALSO

AUTHORS

RESOURCES

COPYING

AUTHORS