Chapter 4: Automated PostgreSQL Backups You Can Actually Restore on a VPS
Build a complete PostgreSQL backup and recovery workflow on a VPS. This practical tutorial covers RPO and RTO, atomic custom-format dumps, SHA-256 checksums, client-side encryption, offsite storage, retention, systemd scheduling, restore drills, and post-restore data verification.
This solves a common production problem: a team sees backup files every day but has never proved those files can restore within the required recovery window.
What you will build:
• Clear RPO and RTO targets
• A least-privileged PostgreSQL backup account
• Atomic custom-format dumps with pg_dump
• SHA-256 verification and public-key encryption
• S3-compatible offsite storage and retention
• A systemd service, timer, logs, and dead-man switch
• A sandbox restore workflow with pg_restore
• Schema, migration, and business-invariant checks
• Failure drills for network loss, disk pressure, corruption, and key rotation
• An incident runbook for real recovery events
For developers, system administrators, DevOps engineers, freelancers, and small teams operating production systems on a VPS.
#ModernPragmaticBuilder #PostgreSQL #DatabaseBackup #DisasterRecovery #VPS #DevOps #SystemAdministration #HowTo