# Backup -\> Prepare -\> Compress

**URL:** <https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233>\
**Category:** Percona XtraBackup\
**Created:** [May 20, 2015, 6:53am UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233 "2015-05-20T06:53:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![p\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@p\_face](https://forums.percona.com/u/p_face)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 6:53am UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233/1 "2015-05-20T06:53:11Z")

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Hi,

I want to make a backup, then prepare it (I guess with --apply-log) and then compress it. But as I understand it, compression is an option while making the backup, and then the backup cannot be prepared without decompressing it first.

I want my backup to be prepared and ready before I archive it. So that I don’t have to prepare it before restoring.  
Am I thinking about this the wrong way?

If not, any recommendations for compressing my backup after doing --apply-log?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![jrivera](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.percona.com/jrivera/32/13_2.png) [@jrivera](https://forums.percona.com/u/jrivera)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233/2 "2015-05-21T15:55:10Z")

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You can always compress the “prepared” backup with TAR or GZIP or any of the existing compression tools available on Linux.

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**Author:** ![p\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@p\_face](https://forums.percona.com/u/p_face)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233/3 "2015-05-22T04:15:38Z")

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Ok. Was curious if there was anything built into the tool to do it. Will do it the old fashioned way as you suggest. Thanks 🙂

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**Author:** ![Tony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@Tony](https://forums.percona.com/u/Tony)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233/4 "2015-05-29T04:04:51Z")

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I’m also using the same process here and I’m compressing the backup using a tar.gz archive. Question is, if my backup is already prepared using the --apply-log option, do I need the xtrabackup\_logfile in the archive anymore?

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**Author:** ![scott.nemes](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.percona.com/scott.nemes/32/5_2.png) [@scott.nemes](https://forums.percona.com/u/scott.nemes)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 11:45am UTC](https://forums.percona.com/t/backup-prepare-compress/4233/5 "2015-05-29T11:45:33Z")

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Hi Tony;

Once the backup is prepared, you do not need any of the Xtrabackup related files unless you want to save the binary log / position related files to setup replication later (i.e. xtrabackup\_binlog\_pos\_innodb or xtrabackup\_binlog\_info).

-Scott