[postgis-users] best postgresql/postgis backup strategy before geos/postgis recompile?

[Christophe Diericx]

Situation:
----------
Ubuntu 8.04 server edition (live server) - Postgresql 8.3.7 (from
standard repositories) - Postgis 1.3.3 (from standard repositories) -
GEOS 2.3.4 (from standard repositories)
The GEOS version in the standard repositories is horribly outdated - i
did not find any backports.

Problem:
--------
I've encountered some GEOS bugs which are fixed in later releases, so
i need to upgrade GEOS/Postgis to include the fixes.

Where i'm standing now:
-----------------------
On a test machine with nearly identical setup, i removed the
postgis-packages and recompiled Geos 3.1.0 against Postgis 1.3.5 and
Postgresql 8.3.7.
After fixing some linking problems seems to work perfectly.

My specific question:
---------------------
What is the best way to migrate my databases (tables, functions,
triggers, gist indexes, data...) from the 'based on older
geos/postgis' version to the 'newer' one?
I'll try the 'soft-upgrade' route described in the documentation but
do you think this will do the trick?

What's the best way to make a full backup of this postgis-enabled
database before trying the upgrade route so i can completely restore
it on the 'newer postgis version' i'm compiling?

Thanks in advance for any advice!