All backup-related operations either create new files or
reference existing files underneath a specified directory that
holds backup data, referred to as the backup directory in this
manual. Choose in advance for this directory a location on a
file system with sufficient storage, which could even be
remotely mounted from a different server. You specify the path
to this directory with the
--backup-dir
option for many
mysqlbackup commands.
Once you establish a regular backup schedule with automated
jobs, it is preferable to keep each backup within a timestamped
subdirectory underneath the main backup directory. To make
mysqlbackup create these subdirectories
automatically, specify the
--with-timestamp
option each time
you run mysqlbackup.
For one-time backup operations (for example, when cloning a
database to set up a replica), you might specify a new directory
each time, or, for a single-file backup, specify the
--force
option to overwrite the old
backup file.