Before you start
================

Before you start using Barman, it is fundamental that you get familiar
with PostgreSQL and the concepts around physical backups,
Point-In-Time-Recovery and replication, such as base backups, WAL
archiving, etc.

Below you can find a non exhaustive list of resources that we recommend
for you to read:

-  PostgreSQL documentation:

   -  `SQL Dump <https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/backup-dump.html>`_   [1]_
   -  `File System Level Backup <https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/backup-file.html>`_ 
   -  `Continuous Archiving and Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR) <https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/continuous-archiving.html>`_ 
   -  `Reliability and the Write-Ahead Log <https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/wal.html>`_ 

-  Book: `PostgreSQL 10 Administration Cookbook <https://www.2ndquadrant.com/en/books/postgresql-10-administration-cookbook/>`_ 

Professional training on these topics is another effective way of
learning these concepts. At any time of the year you can find many
courses available all over the world, delivered by PostgreSQL companies
such as EnterpriseDB.

.. [1]
   It is important that you know the difference between logical and
   physical backup, therefore between ``pg_dump`` and a tool like
   Barman.