There is an interesting feature in MySQL 5.7+: the global variable super_read_only.  MySQL 5.6 and before only had the read_only global variable which is not preventing a user with SUPER privilege to write to the database.  With super_read_only, those users cannot write anymore.  But this feature comes with a surprise.

TL&DR: changing super_read_only to ON also sets read_only to ON and setting

If you're interested in ways to back up stuff, and haven't tried Dar yet, here's an article on using Dar that I've just published on my personal blog. In short, Dar works very much like Tar, but it's got a built-in feature for slicing up archive files which comes handy when you want to distribute backup files across several media, for example DVDs or hard disks.

If you're interested in ways to back up stuff, and haven't tried Dar yet, here's an article on using Dar that I've just published on my personal blog. In short, Dar works very much like Tar, but it's got a built-in feature for slicing up archive files which comes handy when you want to distribute backup files across several media, for example DVDs or hard disks.

If you're interested in ways to back up stuff, and haven't tried Dar yet, here's an article on using Dar that I've just published on my personal blog. In short, Dar works very much like Tar, but it's got a built-in feature for slicing up archive files which comes handy when you want to distribute backup files across several media, for example DVDs or hard disks.