[cvsnt] Re: back up ????? without stoppong service

[Glen Starrett]

> back up CVSNT without stopping service
> 
> > Is it possible?

Yes.  You can back it up like regular files, BUT if someone commits during
the backup then you end up with half the commit backed up and other not,
with possible locking errors (e.g. if the backup is reading a file and cvsnt
tries to change it).  The amount of activity on your CVS server is would
dictate if this acceptable risk for you.

However, I've seen it mentioned here previously that you can add a lock file
or call on the CVS lock service to set up your locks while the backup grabs
it's files then release after.  I don't have the specifics on that, but it's
a possible approach.

IMHO, you should seriously consider stopping the service before backing up.
My strategy is to have a script that runs once per night that stops the
service, ZIPs up the repositories, restarts the service.  Then the backup
can get the ZIP files for a reliable, consistent backup and the service is
only down for a minimal amount of time.

Regards,

Glen Starrett