Performing scheduled PostgreSQL database backups

In this recipe, you will learn how to perform a scheduled backup of your PostgreSQL database and upload it to Amazon S3.

Getting ready

To complete this recipe, you will need an application with the PostgreSQL cartridge. Please refer to the Adding the PostgreSQL cartridge to your application recipe in this chapter to learn how to add the PostgreSQL cartridge. Also, you need to have the Amazon AWS account. Go to http://aws.amazon.com/, and sign up for a new account if you don't already have one.

How to do it…

The following are the steps to perform daily scheduled backup of your PostgreSQL database:

1. Go to https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/home, and create a new bucket to store your database backups.

2. Add the cron cartridge to your application by running the following command:

   $ rhc add-cartridge cron --app myapp
   

3. SSH into the application gear, and download the s3-bash utility in $OPENSHIFT_DATA_DIR. Extract it to the s3-bash directory. Have a look at...