Copy MySQL Databases With dbForge Studio for MySQL

Copying MySQL databases is an essential component of an actionable database administration and management strategy that ensures data protection and security, system availability, and development efficiency. By storing database copies, you safeguard against risks of data loss, enable smooth and effective development cycles, and maintain business continuity during migrations or upgrades.

Why copying MySQL databases is important

Copying a database means creating a duplicate MySQL database on the same or another server. It is critical to maintain a copy of your database to protect your application against data loss, minimize errors, and create a safe development and testing environment. You may need to clone your MySQL database when preparing for the following activities:

• Major updates

  If you are planning a schema update, a large data import, or a deletion of a large volume of data, copy your database before launching the update. This way, you will have a backup database to restore your data from if the update goes wrong.

• Creation of a testing or development environment

  Software developers often need a working environment that mirrors the actual production but contains no risk of corrupting or losing production data. Copying a MySQL database allows developers to test new features, debug issues, and optimize performance, while making no changes to the actual data.

• Database migration between servers

  When migrating a database from one server to another, for example, as part of cloud migration or hosting change, copy the database to ensure quick recovery and minimize downtime.

• Setting up database replication

  If you want to launch one or several database replicas to improve performance and availability, balance workloads, and enable disaster recovery, you need to create a copy of your primary database to serve as the initial replica.

Benefits of database copying for different IT roles

While copying databases in MySQL is generally a good practice that strengthens data protection, its value may vary depending on the role.

Role	Benefits of database copying
Software Developer	Safe testing environment Debugging with realistic data Parallel work with multiple database copies
Database Administrator	Backup and recovery assurance Safe migration and replication Change testing
DevOps Engineers	Infrastructure testing and validation Disaster recovery testing Cloud migration
Data Analysts	Access to real data with no risk of affecting live database performance Analysis of historical data available through database copies Data experimentation in a safe environment

How to copy databases in MySQL with dbForge Studio

Copy Databases is an essential feature of Devart's MySQL IDE that allows you to duplicate databases in MySQL with maximum speed and efficiency.

The following video demonstrates an intuitive and straightforward process of copying a database.

Let's look at the MySQL copy database flow step by step.

1. In dbForge Studio for MySQL, navigate to the Database menu, select Tasks, and click Copy Databases.
2. In the Copy Databases tab, choose the source and target server. The names of databases from the Source column will be duplicated in the Target column. If the target server includes a database with the same name as in the source server, "_copy" is added to the database name. You can rename target databases as necessary.
   
   
   Note

   Database names on the source and target server cannot be identical. If you delete "_copy" from the target database name, you will get an error message.
3. In the Source column, select the databases you want to copy. You can copy multiple databases in one operation.
4. If you need to copy a MySQL database along with its data, select the corresponding checkbox in the Include Data column.
5. To avoid duplication of databases on the target server, select the corresponding checkboxes in the Drop if exists on target column. Note that this option works only for databases that have counterparts on the target server.
   
   

   

6. If needed, adjust the default Copy Database settings by clicking the Settings icon and modifying the values as necessary. For example, you can include or exclude certain clauses, change the maximum number of simultaneous database copyings, or enable or disable bulk insert.
   
   

   

7. Click the icon to start the copying process. In the Progress column, you will see a progress bar with the percentage of completion and elapsed time for each database. At any time, you can cancel the process by clicking the icon.
   
   

   

Alternative methods of copying MySQL databases

Besides copying a MySQL database to another database, there are other methods of creating replicas of your data using dbForge Studio for MySQL. You can create database backups to restore data in the event of loss for any reason. Also, it is possible to export and import data in different formats for various purposes: creation of a database snapshot for recovery, data sharing, analytics, reporting, archiving, etc.

Database backup and restore

dbForge Studio for MySQL offers a GUI-based tool for quick and efficient creation of database backups. The MySQL backup tool creates a copy of the entire database or selected objects and content in a local file that can be used to restore data when needed.

Data export and import

In dbForge Studio for MySQL, you can export data from the entire database or specific tables and views and store it in a local file. Depending on your goal, you can choose from a range of export file formats.

Similarly, you can import data from an external file and include it in your database.

Best practices for copying MySQL databases

To ensure data consistency and database availability after copying, take the following steps:

1. Verify data integrity:
   • Compare data in the source and target databases with dbForge Data Compare for MySQL to make sure that the data in the database copy matches the data in the source.
   • Use dbForge Schema Compare for MySQL to compare the structure of the source and target databases.
   • Synchronize databases if comparisons show misalignment between the source and the target.
2. Optimize database performance post-copy:
   • Use the Table Maintenance feature of dbForge Studio for MySQL to analyze tables in the database copy.
   • Optimize tables to reduce storage space and improve efficiency.
   • If corrupted tables are identified, attempt to repair them.
3. For safe database copying, transfer physical files:
   • Create a backup of your database by storing its content in a local file.
   • Restore the database from the backup on the target server.

Automatic MySQL database copying

In addition to manually triggered copying, you can set up automated database copy operations using various scheduling and automation tools that enable the start of database copying at a predefined moment or as part of a CI/CD process:

• Automated database copying with custom .bat files or PowerShell scripts. Such a file or script can be set up to trigger native MySQL commands that initiate database export and import at a predefined time.
• Using task schedulers such as Cron or Windows Task Scheduler. A Cron job or Windows task can be set up to run database copying scripts according to a schedule.
• Automation in containerized architectures. You can set up a script triggering a Docker command that copies your database to another container.
• Database copying in a CI/CD pipeline. Using CI/CD tools, such as Jenkins or GitLab CI/CD, you can integrate database copying into a deployment pipeline.

Common issues when copying MySQL databases and how to troubleshoot them

Below is a list of the most common challenges you might face when you copy a database in MySQL, together with ways to resolve them.

Challenge	Solution
Permission and access errors Users lacking the privileges required to back up or copy a database will receive an error message when trying these operations.	Grant the necessary privileges to the user.
Foreign key constraints Foreign keys defining references between tables may cause failures during database copying.	Disable foreign keys in the database copying settings.
Encoding and collation issues If the source and target databases have different encoding or collations, table content may be unreadable.	Set character encoding or collation during data export from the database.
Performance issues when copying large databases Copying large databases may be slow and resource-intensive.	Copy databases table-by-table to reduce the size of individual operations.

Security considerations when copying MySQL databases

Safeguarding data during database copying is among the priority concerns for database administrators. Adhering to the following best practices will strengthen the security of your data and ensure its integrity.

• Encrypt data during transfers. Always use SSL/TLS encryption to protect data during copying.
• Handle user permissions post-copy. During database copying, all associated user permissions are copied to the new database. Review user privileges and permissions and revoke if necessary.
• Anonymize sensitive data. Avoid using production data for testing or development purposes. Use dbForge Studio's Data Generator to create synthetic data replacing real values.
• Encrypt your backup storage. Protect backup files and database copies in encrypted directories, restricting unauthorized access.
• Validate data after copying. Run checksum tests to ensure data consistency and completeness.

Conclusion

The Copy Databases tool is the right solution when you need to quickly transfer MySQL databases between two different server instances or clone multiple MySQL databases simultaneously. With a simple and clear interface, you can create a test database, as well as easily identify duplicate data and remove it from the target database. Thus, using the tool built into MySQL Windows client by Devart can significantly reduce time and resources on database provisioning.

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