diff --git a/tools/backup_db.sh b/tools/backup_db.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..aa82f1dba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/backup_db.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+#
+#
+
+if [ "$#" -lt 2 ]; then
+  echo "usage: ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} <DB Path> <Backup Dir>"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+db_dir="$1"
+backup_dir="$2"
+
+echo "== Backing up DB $db_dir to $backup_dir"
+./ldb backup --db="$db_dir" --backup_dir="$backup_dir"
diff --git a/tools/check_format_compatible.sh b/tools/check_format_compatible.sh
index c7d86027e..1d4076995 100755
--- a/tools/check_format_compatible.sh
+++ b/tools/check_format_compatible.sh
@@ -1,25 +1,83 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
 #
-# A shell script to load some pre generated data file to a DB using ldb tool
-# ./ldb needs to be avaible to be executed.
+# A shell script to build and run different versions of ldb to check for
+# expected forward and backward compatibility with "current" version. The
+# working copy must have no uncommitted changes.
+#
+# Usage: <SCRIPT> [ref_for_current]
+# `ref_for_current` can be a revision, tag, commit or branch name. Default is HEAD.
 #
-# Usage: <SCRIPT> [checkout]
-# `checkout` can be a tag, commit or branch name. Will build using it and check DBs generated by all previous branches (or tags for very old versions without branch) can be opened by it.
 # Return value 0 means all regression tests pass. 1 if not pass.
+#
+# Environment options:
+#  SHORT_TEST=1 - Test only the oldest branch for each kind of test. This is
+#    a good choice for PR validation as it is relatively fast and will find
+#    most issues.
+#  USE_SSH=1 - Connect to GitHub with ssh instead of https
 
-scriptpath=`dirname $BASH_SOURCE`
-test_dir=${TEST_TMPDIR:-"/tmp"}"/format_compatible_check"
+if ! git diff-index --quiet HEAD; then
+  echo "You have uncommitted changes. Aborting."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+current_checkout_name=${1:-HEAD}
+# This allows the script to work even if with transient refs like "HEAD"
+current_checkout_hash="$(git rev-parse --quiet --verify $current_checkout_name)"
+
+if [ "$current_checkout_hash" == "" ]; then
+  echo "Not a recognized ref: $current_checkout_name"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# To restore to prior branch at the end
+orig_branch="$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)"
+tmp_branch=_tmp_format_compatible
+tmp_origin=_tmp_origin
+
+# Don't depend on what current "origin" might be
+set -e
+git remote remove $tmp_origin 2>/dev/null || true
+if [ "$USE_SSH" ]; then
+  git remote add $tmp_origin "git@github.com:facebook/rocksdb.git"
+else
+  git remote add $tmp_origin "https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb.git"
+fi
+git fetch $tmp_origin
+
+cleanup() {
+  echo "== Cleaning up"
+  git checkout "$orig_branch" || true
+  git branch -D $tmp_branch || true
+  git remote remove $tmp_origin || true
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT # Always clean up, even on failure or Ctrl+C
+
+scriptpath=`dirname ${BASH_SOURCE[0]}`
+
+test_dir=${TEST_TMPDIR:-"/tmp"}"/rocksdb_format_compatible_$USER"
+rm -rf ${test_dir:?}
+
+# For saving current version of scripts as we checkout different versions to test
 script_copy_dir=$test_dir"/script_copy"
-input_data_path=$test_dir"/test_data_input/"
+mkdir -p $script_copy_dir
+cp -f $scriptpath/*.sh $script_copy_dir
+
+# For shared raw input data
+input_data_path=$test_dir"/test_data_input"
+mkdir -p $input_data_path
+# For external sst ingestion test
+ext_test_dir=$test_dir"/ext"
+mkdir -p $ext_test_dir
+# For DB dump test
+db_test_dir=$test_dir"/db"
+mkdir -p $db_test_dir
+# For backup/restore test (uses DB test)
+bak_test_dir=$test_dir"/bak"
+mkdir -p $bak_test_dir
 
 python_bin=$(which python3 || which python || echo python3)
 
-mkdir $test_dir || true
-mkdir $input_data_path || true
-rm -rf $script_copy_dir
-cp $scriptpath $script_copy_dir -rf
-
 # Generate random files.
 for i in {1..6}
 do
@@ -55,11 +113,55 @@ with open('${sorted_input_data}', 'w') as f:
     print(k + " ==> " + v, file=f)
 EOF
 
-declare -a backward_compatible_checkout_objs=("2.2.fb.branch" "2.3.fb.branch" "2.4.fb.branch" "2.5.fb.branch" "2.6.fb.branch" "2.7.fb.branch" "2.8.1.fb" "3.0.fb.branch" "3.1.fb" "3.2.fb" "3.3.fb" "3.4.fb" "3.5.fb" "3.6.fb" "3.7.fb" "3.8.fb" "3.9.fb" "4.2.fb" "4.3.fb" "4.4.fb" "4.5.fb" "4.6.fb" "4.7.fb" "4.8.fb" "4.9.fb" "4.10.fb" "4.11.fb" "4.12.fb" "4.13.fb" "5.0.fb" "5.1.fb" "5.2.fb" "5.3.fb" "5.4.fb" "5.5.fb" "5.6.fb" "5.7.fb" "5.8.fb" "5.9.fb" "5.10.fb" "5.11.fb" "5.12.fb" "5.13.fb" "5.14.fb" "5.15.fb")
-declare -a forward_compatible_checkout_objs=() # N/A at the moment
-declare -a forward_compatible_with_options_checkout_objs=("5.16.fb" "5.17.fb" "5.18.fb" "6.0.fb" "6.1.fb" "6.2.fb" "6.3.fb" "6.4.fb" "6.5.fb" "6.6.fb" "6.7.fb" "6.8.fb" "6.9.fb" "6.10.fb" "6.11.fb" "6.12.fb" "6.13.fb" "6.14.fb" "6.15.fb" "6.16.fb" "6.17.fb")
-declare -a checkout_objs=(${backward_compatible_checkout_objs[@]} ${forward_compatible_checkout_objs[@]} ${forward_compatible_with_options_checkout_objs[@]})
-declare -a extern_sst_ingestion_compatible_checkout_objs=("5.16.fb" "5.17.fb" "5.18.fb" "6.0.fb" "6.1.fb" "6.2.fb" "6.3.fb" "6.4.fb" "6.5.fb" "6.6.fb" "6.7.fb" "6.8.fb" "6.9.fb" "6.10.fb" "6.11.fb" "6.12.fb" "6.13.fb" "6.14.fb" "6.15.fb" "6.16.fb" "6.17.fb")
+# db_backward_only_refs defined below the rest
+
+# To check for DB forward compatibility with loading options (old version
+# reading data from new), as well as backward compatibility
+declare -a db_forward_with_options_refs=("5.16.fb" "5.17.fb" "5.18.fb" "6.0.fb" "6.1.fb" "6.2.fb" "6.3.fb" "6.4.fb" "6.5.fb" "6.6.fb" "6.7.fb" "6.8.fb" "6.9.fb" "6.10.fb" "6.11.fb" "6.12.fb" "6.13.fb" "6.14.fb" "6.15.fb" "6.16.fb" "6.17.fb")
+# To check for DB forward compatibility without loading options (in addition
+# to the "with loading options" set), as well as backward compatibility
+declare -a db_forward_no_options_refs=() # N/A at the moment
+
+# To check for SST ingestion backward compatibility (new version reading
+# data from old) (ldb ingest_extern_sst added in 5.16.x, back-ported to
+# 5.14.x, 5.15.x)
+declare -a ext_backward_only_refs=("5.14.fb" "5.15.fb")
+# To check for SST ingestion forward compatibility (old version reading
+# data from new) as well as backward compatibility
+declare -a ext_forward_refs=("${db_forward_no_options_refs[@]}" "${db_forward_with_options_refs[@]}")
+
+# To check for backup backward compatibility (new version reading data
+# from old) (ldb backup/restore added in 4.11.x)
+declare -a bak_backward_only_refs=("4.11.fb" "4.12.fb" "4.13.fb" "5.0.fb" "5.1.fb" "5.2.fb" "5.3.fb" "5.4.fb" "5.5.fb" "5.6.fb" "5.7.fb" "5.8.fb" "5.9.fb" "5.10.fb" "5.11.fb" "5.12.fb" "5.13.fb" "${ext_backward_only_refs[@]}")
+# To check for backup forward compatibility (old version reading data
+# from new) as well as backward compatibility
+declare -a bak_forward_refs=("${db_forward_no_options_refs[@]}" "${db_forward_with_options_refs[@]}")
+
+# Branches (git refs) to check for DB backward compatibility (new version
+# reading data from old) (in addition to the "forward compatible" list)
+# NOTE: 2.7.fb.branch shows assertion violation in some configurations
+declare -a db_backward_only_refs=("2.2.fb.branch" "2.3.fb.branch" "2.4.fb.branch" "2.5.fb.branch" "2.6.fb.branch" "2.7.fb.branch" "2.8.1.fb" "3.0.fb.branch" "3.1.fb" "3.2.fb" "3.3.fb" "3.4.fb" "3.5.fb" "3.6.fb" "3.7.fb" "3.8.fb" "3.9.fb" "4.2.fb" "4.3.fb" "4.4.fb" "4.5.fb" "4.6.fb" "4.7.fb" "4.8.fb" "4.9.fb" "4.10.fb" "${bak_backward_only_refs[@]}")
+
+if [ "$SHORT_TEST" ]; then
+  # Use only the first (if exists) of each list
+  db_backward_only_refs=(${db_backward_only_refs[0]})
+  db_forward_no_options_refs=(${db_forward_no_options_refs[0]})
+  db_forward_with_options_refs=(${db_forward_with_options_refs[0]})
+  ext_backward_only_refs=(${ext_backward_only_refs[0]})
+  ext_forward_refs=(${ext_forward_refs[0]})
+  bak_backward_only_refs=(${bak_backward_only_refs[0]})
+  bak_forward_refs=(${bak_forward_refs[0]})
+fi
+
+# De-duplicate & accumulate
+declare -a checkout_refs=()
+for checkout_ref in "${db_backward_only_refs[@]}" "${db_forward_no_options_refs[@]}" "${db_forward_with_options_refs[@]}" "${ext_backward_only_refs[@]}" "${ext_forward_refs[@]}" "${bak_backward_only_refs[@]}" "${bak_forward_refs[@]}"
+do
+  if [ ! -e $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref ]; then
+    mkdir -p $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+    checkout_refs+=($checkout_ref)
+  fi
+done
 
 generate_db()
 {
@@ -105,89 +207,155 @@ ingest_external_sst()
     set -e
 }
 
-# Sandcastle sets us up with a remote that is just another directory on the same
-# machine and doesn't have our branches. Need to fetch them so checkout works.
-# Remote add may fail if added previously (we don't cleanup).
-git remote add github_origin "https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb.git"
-set -e
-git fetch github_origin
+backup_db()
+{
+    set +e
+    $script_copy_dir/backup_db.sh $1 $2
+    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo ==== Error backing up DB $1 to $2 ====
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    set -e
+}
 
-# Compatibility test for external SST file ingestion
-for checkout_obj in "${extern_sst_ingestion_compatible_checkout_objs[@]}"
-do
-  echo == Generating DB with extern SST file in "$checkout_obj" ...
-  git checkout github_origin/$checkout_obj -b $checkout_obj
-  make clean
-  DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-  write_external_sst $input_data_path $test_dir/$checkout_obj $test_dir/$checkout_obj
-  ingest_external_sst $test_dir/$checkout_obj $test_dir/$checkout_obj
-done
+restore_db()
+{
+    set +e
+    $script_copy_dir/restore_db.sh $1 $2
+    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo ==== Error restoring from $1 to $2 ====
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    set -e
+}
 
-checkout_flag=${1:-"master"}
+member_of_array()
+{
+  local e match="$1"
+  shift
+  for e; do [[ "$e" == "$match" ]] && return 0; done
+  return 1
+}
 
-echo == Building $checkout_flag debug
-git checkout github_origin/$checkout_flag -b tmp-$checkout_flag
+# General structure from here:
+# * Check out, build, and do stuff with the "current" branch.
+# * For each older branch under consideration,
+#   * Check out, build, and do stuff with it, potentially using data
+#     generated from "current" branch.
+# * (Again) check out, build, and do (other) stuff with the "current"
+#    branch, potentially using data from older branches.
+#
+# This way, we only do at most n+1 checkout+build steps, without the
+# need to stash away executables.
+
+# Decorate name
+current_checkout_name="$current_checkout_name ($current_checkout_hash)"
+
+echo "== Building $current_checkout_name debug"
+git checkout -B $tmp_branch $current_checkout_hash
 make clean
 DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-compare_base_db_dir=$test_dir"/base_db_dir"
-write_external_sst $input_data_path $compare_base_db_dir $compare_base_db_dir
-ingest_external_sst $compare_base_db_dir $compare_base_db_dir
 
-for checkout_obj in "${extern_sst_ingestion_compatible_checkout_objs[@]}"
+echo "== Using $current_checkout_name, generate DB with extern SST and ingest"
+current_ext_test_dir=$ext_test_dir"/current"
+write_external_sst $input_data_path ${current_ext_test_dir}_pointless $current_ext_test_dir
+ingest_external_sst ${current_ext_test_dir}_ingest $current_ext_test_dir
+
+echo "== Generating DB from $current_checkout_name ..."
+current_db_test_dir=$db_test_dir"/current"
+generate_db $input_data_path $current_db_test_dir
+
+echo "== Creating backup of DB from $current_checkout_name ..."
+current_bak_test_dir=$bak_test_dir"/current"
+backup_db $current_db_test_dir $current_bak_test_dir
+
+for checkout_ref in "${checkout_refs[@]}"
 do
-  echo == Build "$checkout_obj" and try to open DB generated using $checkout_flag
-  git checkout $checkout_obj
+  echo "== Building $checkout_ref debug"
+  git reset --hard $tmp_origin/$checkout_ref
   make clean
   DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-  compare_db $test_dir/$checkout_obj $compare_base_db_dir db_dump.txt 1 1
-  git checkout tmp-$checkout_flag
-  # Clean up
-  git branch -D $checkout_obj
+
+  # We currently assume DB backward compatibility for every branch listed
+  echo "== Use $checkout_ref to generate a DB ..."
+  generate_db $input_data_path $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${ext_backward_only_refs[@]}" ||
+    member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${ext_forward_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to generate DB with extern SST file"
+    write_external_sst $input_data_path $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_pointless $ext_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+  fi
+
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${ext_forward_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to ingest extern SST file and compare vs. $current_checkout_name"
+    ingest_external_sst $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_ingest $ext_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+    compare_db $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_ingest ${current_ext_test_dir}_ingest db_dump.txt 1 1
+
+    rm -rf ${ext_test_dir:?}/${checkout_ref}_ingest
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to ingest extern SST file from $current_checkout_name"
+    ingest_external_sst $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_ingest $current_ext_test_dir
+    compare_db $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_ingest ${current_ext_test_dir}_ingest db_dump.txt 1 1
+  fi
+
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${db_forward_no_options_refs[@]}" ||
+    member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${db_forward_with_options_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to open DB generated using $current_checkout_name..."
+    compare_db $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref $current_db_test_dir forward_${checkout_ref}_dump.txt 0
+  fi
+
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${db_forward_with_options_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to open DB generated using $current_checkout_name with its options..."
+    compare_db $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref $current_db_test_dir forward_${checkout_ref}_dump.txt 1 1
+  fi
+
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${bak_backward_only_refs[@]}" ||
+    member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${bak_forward_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to backup DB"
+    backup_db $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref $bak_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+  fi
+
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${bak_forward_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $checkout_ref to restore DB from $current_checkout_name"
+    rm -rf ${db_test_dir:?}/$checkout_ref
+    restore_db $current_bak_test_dir $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+    compare_db $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref $current_db_test_dir forward_${checkout_ref}_dump.txt 0
+  fi
 done
 
-echo == Finish compatibility test for SST ingestion.
-
-for checkout_obj in "${checkout_objs[@]}"
-do
-   echo == Generating DB from "$checkout_obj" ...
-   git checkout github_origin/$checkout_obj -b $checkout_obj
-   make clean
-   DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-   generate_db $input_data_path $test_dir/$checkout_obj
-done
-
-checkout_flag=${1:-"master"}
-
-echo == Building $checkout_flag debug
-git checkout tmp-$checkout_flag
+echo "== Building $current_checkout_name debug (again, final)"
+git reset --hard $current_checkout_hash
 make clean
 DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-compare_base_db_dir=$test_dir"/base_db_dir"
-echo == Generate compare base DB to $compare_base_db_dir
-generate_db $input_data_path $compare_base_db_dir
 
-for checkout_obj in "${checkout_objs[@]}"
+for checkout_ref in "${checkout_refs[@]}"
 do
-   echo == Opening DB from "$checkout_obj" using debug build of $checkout_flag ...
-   compare_db $test_dir/$checkout_obj $compare_base_db_dir db_dump.txt 1 0
-done
+  # We currently assume DB backward compatibility for every branch listed
+  echo "== Use $current_checkout_name to open DB generated using $checkout_ref..."
+  compare_db $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref $current_db_test_dir db_dump.txt 1 0
 
-for checkout_obj in "${forward_compatible_checkout_objs[@]}"
-do
-   echo == Build "$checkout_obj" and try to open DB generated using $checkout_flag...
-   git checkout $checkout_obj
-   make clean
-   DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-   compare_db $test_dir/$checkout_obj $compare_base_db_dir forward_${checkout_obj}_dump.txt 0
-done
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${ext_backward_only_refs[@]}" ||
+    member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${ext_forward_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    rm -rf ${ext_test_dir:?}/${checkout_ref}_ingest
+    echo "== Use $current_checkout_name to ingest extern SST file from $checkout_ref"
+    ingest_external_sst $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_ingest $current_ext_test_dir
+    compare_db $ext_test_dir/${checkout_ref}_ingest ${current_ext_test_dir}_ingest db_dump.txt 1 1
+  fi
 
-for checkout_obj in "${forward_compatible_with_options_checkout_objs[@]}"
-do
-   echo == Build "$checkout_obj" and try to open DB generated using $checkout_flag with its options...
-   git checkout $checkout_obj
-   make clean
-   DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1 make ldb -j32
-   compare_db $test_dir/$checkout_obj $compare_base_db_dir forward_${checkout_obj}_dump.txt 1 1
+  if member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${bak_backward_only_refs[@]}" ||
+    member_of_array "$checkout_ref" "${bak_forward_refs[@]}"
+  then
+    echo "== Use $current_checkout_name to restore DB from $checkout_ref"
+    rm -rf ${db_test_dir:?}/$checkout_ref
+    restore_db $bak_test_dir/$checkout_ref $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref
+    compare_db $db_test_dir/$checkout_ref $current_db_test_dir db_dump.txt 1 0
+  fi
 done
 
 echo ==== Compatibility Test PASSED ====
diff --git a/tools/restore_db.sh b/tools/restore_db.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..ed89794b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/restore_db.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+#
+#
+
+if [ "$#" -lt 2 ]; then
+  echo "usage: ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} <Backup Dir> <DB Path>"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+backup_dir="$1"
+db_dir="$2"
+
+echo "== Restoring latest from $backup_dir to $db_dir"
+./ldb restore --db="$db_dir" --backup_dir="$backup_dir"
diff --git a/tools/write_external_sst.sh b/tools/write_external_sst.sh
index 3b02d082f..be01ae022 100755
--- a/tools/write_external_sst.sh
+++ b/tools/write_external_sst.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ input_data_dir=$1
 db_dir=$2
 extern_sst_dir=$3
 rm -rf $db_dir
+mkdir -p $extern_sst_dir
 
 set -e