MySQL Enterprise Backup(MEB) does hot backup of innodb data and log files. Till MEB 3.6.1, the user backs up the only innodb tables in a 3 step process:

STEP 1. Take backup using --only-innodb option

STEP 2. Temporarily make the table read only by executing “FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCK”

STEP 3. Manually copy the .frm files of innodb tables to the destination directory where backup is stored.

MEB 3.7.0 has an enhancement to innodb file copying. The .frm files gets copied along with the hot backup done for innodb files. I would like to make the blog a little interactive by explaining the feature as answers:

1. What are these .frm files?

The files containing the metadata, such as the table definition, of a MySQL table.

For backups, the full set of .frm files are always required …