Help: checkpoint | Mongoose

Showing help on 'checkpoint'

Checkpointing refers to process by which the MOO makes a backup copy of itself. Because the computer that's running the MOO has to simultaneously handle two copies of itself, this results in a period of high lag for the MOO users. So, why do we put up with this?

Every successful checkpoint results in a database of what the MOO was like at that point in time. All the MOOmail, mailing lists, objects, descriptions, properties, and verbs on all of the MOO are frozen in time and stored. In the event that the MOO crashes (due to a power failure or the like), this checkpoint database can be used to restart the MOO with much of our recent work intact. This is a very good thing.

Checkpointing is a global backup. Do not rely on the checkpoint database to back up your own work! Archive your code, properties, and objects offline to ensure their safety. Each successful checkpoint overwrites the previous day's checkpoint, so it is an unreliable means of recovering lost data. Some of these checkpoints do get backed up quarterly, but these are not available without inconveniencing the MOO populace as a whole.