Mirroring database

Hi All,
I want to mirorring my mysql database on dreamhost with my local server, so my client cant access locally (wich is fast) and online (public can access too).
I have plan to use rsync to do that. The problem is:
1. I know that in my local server (using xp pro sp2 with wamp server) database was saved in c:\wamp\mysql\data\, but I dont know where dreamhost saved my database.
2. Im not sure if I have access permission to my database directory to access with my rsync command.
3. kchrist have other solution to this, below is his post,
=====
Posted by: kchrist
Posted on: 2005-09-12 09:19:00

There's no need to delete the database; look into mysqldump and mysqlimport.

A two-line shell script that dumps one and imports it into the other, run from cron, would do the trick. PHP seems like a strange choice of languages for something like this.
=====
but I think that with rsync capabilities (only download any newer or changed files from the server) rsync will do the mirroring faster.

Anyone can help?
ps: Im sorry 4 my bad English, Im from Indonesia :)

In reply to:

---

2. Im not sure if I have access permission to my database directory to access with my rsync command.

---

You don't have access. The mysql servers are on separate, dedicated machines. Hence the suggestion to use the mysql client programs.



Customer since 2000 openvein.org

Even if you had access, backing up a MySQL database with rsync is a recipe for disaster. Only databases that have snapshot/freezing functionality can safely be backed up file-by-file. Otherwise, you could end up with internal inconsistencies between tables. And that's assuming that rsync correctly detects when a file gets modified during the sync process. (I have no idea.)

Just use mysqldump. If you don't have a mysql client on the other machine, run it locally through a pipe to ssh to the backup box, e.g.

mysqldump -h hostname -u username --password="password" database_name | ssh username@hostname "cat > mydb_backup.$(date '+%s')"