Ubuntu Linux Backup MySQL server Shell Script

Q. I’m new to Linux and I’ve dedicated VPS server running Ubuntu Linux. I’m using CMS software and MySQL act as database server. Can you explain how can I backup all mysql server databases to ftp server IP address called 10.1.5.2?

A. You can use mysqldump command to backup database. The mysqldump client is a backup program. It can be used to dump a database or a collection of databases for backup or for transferring the data to another SQL server. The dump contains SQL statements to create the table or populate it, or both.

Once database is dumped, you need to upload the same to ftp server. Use lftp client to upload all files.

Install lftp

lftp is a file transfer program that allows sophisticated ftp, http and other connections to other hosts. If site is specified then lftp will connect to that site otherwise a connection has to be established with the open command. To install lftp, enter:

sudo apt-get install lftp

Shell script to backup MySQL database server

Following is the shell script. It will dump all database to /backup/mysql and later it will upload to FTP server. You need to setup correct username and password before using the script:

#!/bin/bash
### MySQL Server Login Info ###
MUSER="root"
MPASS="MYSQL-ROOT-PASSWORD"
MHOST="localhost"
MYSQL="$(which mysql)"
MYSQLDUMP="$(which mysqldump)"
BAK="/backup/mysql"
GZIP="$(which gzip)"
### FTP SERVER Login info ###
FTPU="FTP-SERVER-USER-NAME"
FTPP="FTP-SERVER-PASSWORD"
FTPS="FTP-SERVER-IP-ADDRESS"
NOW=$(date +"%d-%m-%Y")

[ ! -d $BAK ] && mkdir -p $BAK || /bin/rm -f $BAK/*

DBS="$($MYSQL -u $MUSER -h $MHOST -p$MPASS -Bse 'show databases')"
for db in $DBS
do
 FILE=$BAK/$db.$NOW-$(date +"%T").gz
 $MYSQLDUMP -u $MUSER -h $MHOST -p$MPASS $db | $GZIP -9 > $FILE
done

lftp -u $FTPU,$FTPP -e "mkdir /mysql/$NOW;cd /mysql/$NOW; mput /backup/mysql/*; quit" $FTPS

Save script as /home/your-name/mysql.backup.sh file. Setup executable permission:
$ chmod +x /home/your-name/mysql.backup.sh
To backup MySQL, enter:
/home/your-name/mysql.backup.sh
OR
sudo /home/your-name/mysql.backup.sh

Run MySQL backup script as cron job

To automate procedure setup a cron job. For example run backup everyday at midnight (i.e once a day), enter:
$ sudo crontab -e
Append following cron job:
@midnight /home/you/mysql.backup.sh >/dev/null 2>&1
Save and close the file. Please note that above script should work with other Linux distros or UNIX like oses.

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