How to take MySQL Backup through SSH Putty

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Database is the core of every site. If anyone gets access to your database, the site can face major problems. So here I will show you the best way to take backup of your database. You can do that securely using Putty. Its and free SSH Client that works well and create a secure database backup. It is good to keep the site off for the time being. Putty allow you to have a full backup of your site with all its active content. If the site is active at the time of backup there are chances that some tables will be missed. So the first thing you have to do is close your site for some time. Putty will trigger the backup. The time will depend on the size of your database.

If you are having a huge site where the database is bigger than 2GB then the backup will be slower. Once you get a confirmation that the backup is over you can then move ahead with your work. Putty is not complicated to use. There are very less commands you have to use to run the backup. The backup is stored in the root directory from where you can download the backup and keep it for future usage. SSH helps you to take core backup with maximum security. No files are modified here and the backup is completely secure. This is just an backup process. Restoration is different.

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Steps to use Putty for full SSH SQL Backup:

1. First download and install Putty in your system. You can find a version from the official site.
2. Just run that. Under Hostname you can type the url of the website or its IP address. Leave the port on default or empty.
3. Then click on Open. The next thing you have to do is type the login details.
4. That means the user id and password which will provide you access to the MySQL database. It can also be your cpanel details.
5. There will be a command window in which you will have to type the user id and password. The password will not be visible. Just type it properly.
6. Now hit enter. For backup type "mysqldump -p -u username database_name > databasebackupname.sql". You have to type this command for backup. Here in place of username type the user that is allowed to access the database. Then under database_name type the database name and at last type the name you want to specify for the backup fie. Hit enter. You can also specific a directly if you want. Or else Putty will create one in the home directory and store the file in that.
7. Once the backup is generated you can download that through FTP or manually as per your need.