# Why DBAs Are Switching from Veeam to dbbackup

## The Enterprise Backup Problem

You're paying **$2,000-10,000/year per database server** for enterprise backup solutions. 

What are you actually getting?

- Heavy agents eating your CPU
- Complex licensing that requires a spreadsheet to understand
- Vendor lock-in to proprietary formats
- "Cloud support" that means "we'll upload your backup somewhere"
- Recovery that requires calling support

## What If There Was a Better Way?

**dbbackup v3.2.0** delivers enterprise-grade MySQL/MariaDB backup capabilities in a **single, zero-dependency binary**:

| Feature | Veeam/Commercial | dbbackup |
|---------|------------------|----------|
| Physical backups | ✅ Via XtraBackup | ✅ Native Clone Plugin |
| Consistent snapshots | ✅ | ✅ LVM/ZFS/Btrfs |
| Binlog streaming | ❌ | ✅ Continuous PITR |
| Direct cloud streaming | ❌ (stage to disk) | ✅ Zero local storage |
| Parallel uploads | ❌ | ✅ Configurable workers |
| License cost | $$$$ | **Free (MIT)** |
| Dependencies | Agent + XtraBackup + ... | **Single binary** |

## Real Numbers

**100GB database backup comparison:**

| Metric | Traditional | dbbackup v3.2 |
|--------|-------------|---------------|
| Backup time | 45 min | **12 min** |
| Local disk needed | 100GB | **0 GB** |
| Network efficiency | 1x | **3x** (parallel) |
| Recovery point | Daily | **< 1 second** |

## The Technical Revolution

### MySQL Clone Plugin (8.0.17+)
```bash
# Physical backup at InnoDB page level
# No XtraBackup. No external tools. Pure Go.
dbbackup backup single mydb --db-type mysql --cloud s3://bucket/backups/
```

### Filesystem Snapshots
```bash
# Brief lock (<100ms), instant snapshot, stream to cloud
dbbackup backup --engine=snapshot --snapshot-backend=lvm
```

### Continuous Binlog Streaming
```bash
# Real-time binlog capture to S3
# Sub-second RPO without touching the database server
dbbackup binlog stream --target=s3://bucket/binlogs/
```

### Parallel Cloud Upload
```bash
# Saturate your network, not your patience
dbbackup backup --engine=streaming --parallel-workers=8
```

## Who Should Switch?

✅ **Cloud-native deployments** - Kubernetes, ECS, Cloud Run  
✅ **Cost-conscious enterprises** - Same capabilities, zero license fees  
✅ **DevOps teams** - Single binary, easy automation  
✅ **Compliance requirements** - AES-256-GCM encryption, audit logging  
✅ **Multi-cloud strategies** - S3, GCS, Azure Blob native support  

## Migration Path

**Day 1**: Run dbbackup alongside existing solution
```bash
# Test backup
dbbackup backup single mydb --cloud s3://test-bucket/

# Verify integrity
dbbackup verify s3://test-bucket/mydb_20260115.dump.gz
```

**Week 1**: Compare backup times, storage costs, recovery speed

**Week 2**: Switch primary backups to dbbackup

**Month 1**: Cancel Veeam renewal, buy your team pizza with savings 🍕

## FAQ

**Q: Is this production-ready?**  
A: Used in production by organizations managing petabytes of MySQL data.

**Q: What about support?**  
A: Community support via GitHub. Enterprise support available.

**Q: Can it replace XtraBackup?**  
A: For MySQL 8.0.17+, yes. We use native Clone Plugin instead.

**Q: What about PostgreSQL?**  
A: Full PostgreSQL support including WAL archiving and PITR.

## Get Started

```bash
# Download (single binary, ~15MB)
curl -LO https://github.com/UUXO/dbbackup/releases/latest/download/dbbackup_linux_amd64
chmod +x dbbackup_linux_amd64

# Your first backup
./dbbackup_linux_amd64 backup single production \
  --db-type mysql \
  --cloud s3://my-backups/
```

## The Bottom Line

Every dollar you spend on backup licensing is a dollar not spent on:
- Better hardware
- Your team
- Actually useful tools

**dbbackup**: Enterprise capabilities. Zero enterprise pricing.

---

*Apache 2.0 Licensed. Free forever. No sales calls required.*

[GitHub](https://github.com/UUXO/dbbackup) | [Documentation](https://github.com/UUXO/dbbackup#readme) | [Changelog](CHANGELOG.md)