How do I mirror a database from remote Linux into Windows localhost?

Question

I would like to mirror Linux dev.example.com into Windows dev.example.com.local properly to be able to do development locally.

1. I have already set up xampp and hosts (dev.example.com.local)
2. I have created localhost mysql database instance (dev).
3. I have set up Drupal 7 settings.php on local.
4. I can export remote db into sql.zip file and I can import it into local db

The key question I have now is how to properly handle mysql export and import to make sure both local and remote mysql instances are in sync?

I bet Step 4 is not enough here.

Answer 1

Step 4 is enough, they both will be in sync until you change data on one or the other instance.

As a bonus tip, you can ease this procedure by using drush to sync your environnements, via the use of drush aliases.

More details on this here.

Good-luck friend, happy coding.

Answer 2

You need only add an important step 5 to the above list:

1. drush clear-cache all

Unfortunately, drush sql-sync is not currently supported on Windows. Patches welcome!

Answer 3

A very hand module for this is backup and migrate. It creates or intalls a complete backup of your db with one mouse click.