# Database Backup and Restore

> As explained in the Database Persistence page, backup is a prudent way to preserve the database in case of hardware failure. The backup guarantees that it will be possible to restore the database to the state it had been at the time the last backup was completed eXtremeDB p rovides several methods to backup and restore databases:

> > 1. Incremental Online Backup. This feature (introduced in the 7.1 release) allows applications to perform full or incremental (partial) backups of both transient and persistent databases. In this context the term online means that the database can be backed up while all other database services are running; i.e. applications can access the database without restrictions. Please see the Incremental Backup page for further details. (The internal backup/restore implementation is described here: Incremental Backup Implementation.)

> > 2. File Backup. The file backup capability for persistent databases only allows applications to create copies of the data and log files in a background thread while normal database operations proceed uninterrupted. File backup can be the most efficient way of creating a backup of a disk database because it copies data at the file level, sequentially, without interpreting the content of the pages. Please see the File Backup page for further details.

> > 3. Save/Load: This is an export / import feature for in-memory and/or persistent databases which includes integrated binary schema evolution: i.e., eXtremeDB can save a database as a binary image and then restore it with a changed schema. (Please view the Data Export and Import pages for further details.)