Point-in-Time Recovery Setup
When someone runs a bad migration or a DELETE without a WHERE clause, you need to recover to the exact moment before it happened. We implement point-in-time recovery so you can restore any database to any second of any day within your retention window.
Need this done for your project?
We implement, you ship. Async, documented, done in days.
How PITR Works
Point-in-time recovery combines periodic base backups with continuous transaction log archiving. PostgreSQL uses WAL (Write-Ahead Logs), MySQL uses binary logs. A PITR restore replays the base backup, then applies transaction logs up to a target timestamp. The result is a database state that reflects every committed transaction up to that exact moment. No data loss between backup windows.
PostgreSQL WAL Archiving
We configure archive_mode = on and set up pgBackRest or WAL-G to stream WAL segments to S3. Base backups run daily via pg_basebackup. WAL segments ship every 60 seconds or when a 16MB segment fills — whichever comes first. The combination gives you sub-minute RPO. Recovery targets can be specified as timestamps, transaction IDs, or named restore points set by your application before risky operations.
MySQL Binary Log Retention
For MySQL, we enable binary logging with binlog_format=ROW and configure retention with binlog_expire_logs_seconds. Binary logs are streamed to object storage using mysqlbinlog or Percona XtraBackup. PITR restores use mysqlbinlog --stop-datetime to replay events up to the target timestamp. For RDS and Aurora, we configure automated backups with the maximum 35-day retention window.
Recovery Procedures and Testing
We document and test the exact recovery procedure: identify the target timestamp, locate the correct base backup, restore it to a temporary instance, replay transaction logs to the target, verify data integrity, and promote or swap the instance. Each step has exact commands and expected outputs. We run a full PITR drill quarterly — including the decision-making process of identifying the correct recovery point.
Why Anubiz Engineering
Ready to get started?
Skip the research. Tell us what you need, and we'll scope it, implement it, and hand it back — fully documented and production-ready.