Sorry, I have no idea what MysqlHotCopy even is.

I have no plans to make any changes to this in the near future, and any that do get made will be minor.

Why should I or should't I close down the forums?
Why should I or should't I lock the tables?

Does it make multiple backups? So when there's one in place, does it make a new one?
Can it backup to a FTP?

1 & 2 - Your choice - there is no should or shouldn't.

3. Backups are date based, so each day you get a new copy, run it twice on the same day and one will overwrite the other.

4. No.

Loud and clear!

About the closing and locking: is there an advantage to do so?

In the setting, should I use this location: /var/www/vhosts/mysite/httpdocs/dbbackup/ or from the root /dbbackup/

And does it also work with PHP 5

Any update Paul ? :).
/server_root/backup/. Like mine is /home/username/backup/

Yep I'm using PHP 5.2.0 so far its working :)

No, it's very low on my list of things to do.

Thanks a bunch for this. :up:

I originally had problems because I was timing out when it hit my postindex table, so I just removed that table from the backup list and it works like a charm now.

Thanks again!
Patrice

[high]* projectego clicks install ;)[/high]

If I read ONE MORE POST about how to set the path correctly or receiving the

Error I'm going to explode!


Setting the correct path for Linux Distributions

Original Line

Quote:

$backup['DUMP_PATH'] = '/path/to/backups/'; // Path to backups folder, with trailing slash

On Linux servers / is the most parent path (i.e. This is the base where everything starts).

You should know the path to your forums. Most people will have a shared hosting account so you need to contact your host (or look into the original email sent to you when you purchased your hosting) to get the path.

If you are on a shared hosting the path names will differ a little but in essense they are the same.

==========================================

A typical path, for example, for suse will be:

Quote:

/srv/www/vhosts/mysite.com/httpdocs/forum

That is the PATH (not web directory) to your forum.



When you log in with FTP you will probably be at

Quote:

/srv/www/vhosts/mysite.com/

OR

Quote:

/srv/www/vhosts/mysite.com/httpdocs/

Depending on how your host has setup your account.


==================================


If you change the original line to something like

Quote:

/mybackups

It's guaranteed to fail because you don't have access to that path unless you have root access to that server (unless you own it - you don't).

==========================================


So how do I actually know where to store the backup files?

You can use . or .. to change directories without knowing the actual path.

You know 100% that the script is in /forum/includes/ (or whatever your forum directory is called).

So let's take you back to YOUR parent base directory.

==========================================

Quote:

../../../

That means you have just gone back 3 directories.


From:

Quote:

http://www.yoursite.com/forum/includes

To (remember you have an additional folder like httpdocs, hence 3)

Quote:

http://www.yoursite.com/

==========================================


In paths, this would be going from:

Quote:

/srv/www/vhosts/mysite.com/httpdocs/forum/includes

To:

Quote:

/srv/www/vhosts/mysite.com/httpdocs/

So now you are at the base directory where you can upload files to the web.


==========================================


So use an FTP program and navigate to your base http folder where you can see the folder to upload files to the web where others can access them (httpdocs for example)


(Before)
Something similar to this...

Code:

---

/httpsdocs
/httpdocs - This is the folder (or similar) that I mean
/cgi-bin
/test
/stats

---

now create a new folder called mybackups and CHMOD it to 777




(After)

/httpsdocs
/httpdocs
/mybackups(This is the folder you created)
/cgi-bin
/test
/stats

==========================================

Now edit the config file and set the path to something like this:

Quote:

../../../mybackups/

The script will automatically change directories and save your files there.

==========================================

If you get the "(Could not open Destination SQL file for writing.)" Error you need to check to make sure it's set to 777. If you still get the error you may need to change
the path to:

Quote:

../../mybackups/

AND create the folder mybackups inside the httpdocs folder (same directory where /forum is) and CHMOD that to 777.




/forum
/mybackups(This is the folder you created)
/picturs
/whatever


============================
============================



Nice Hack. Installed and working with no problems. Thanks for this :)

:confused:

I'm not sure I understand. So what IS the correct path? :o

*poof* ;)

What's the importance of the postindex table -- is it a necessity to have in a backup or can it be skipped, as I notice my forum hangs and sometimes errors leaving the forum offline when the postindex table is being processed.

It's part of the vb search system, you don't need to back it up as you can rebuild it from within the ACP.

I just realized that I'd yet to switch to fulltext searching - I thought I did, so that cut my backup size down.

Thanks Paul, I'll remember that.

:confused:

Switching to full text searching cuts the backup size down? I would have thought it would be the other way 'round...

Nope, indexes are never backed up.

Using FT searching means you can forget the word and postindex tables (or just empty them).

Ok, trying it (because needed) for the second time.

Inside my destination backup directory, after running the task manually, a dir is created.

That dir is Y-m-d format, but the task stoped and no SQL is generated.

Error: An error occurred during the MySQL backup. Details (Could not open Destination SQL file for writing.)

The dir is correct set, but why not the sql?

Thanks.

That usually means:

1. you haven't set the backup directory to be wirteable, OR more likely

2. you haven't correctly specified the path to the directory: note that this is the "physical" path on your server, not the URL - read previous posts in this thread by Paul M for specific instructions

well; here is what I get.....

and another 4 times an equivalent error

whatever i fill in the backup dir, the error remains the same....

is there something wrong with the server setup?

No, there's something wrong with your path to the backup directory.

what i thought of as really strange is that the path i specify comes back twice within the ( and ), first time after (/tmp:/ and then after :/user/lib/php:/

anyways, i am going to try again (never had this sort of problems with paths before, and i used impex etc)

1. The directory has 777 of permissions, thats why the Y-m-d directory is created.
2. The path used is the same used with vBadvanced CMPS (phpinfo), thats why the Y-m-d directory is created too.

Or?

OK well now I am 100% sure I have filled in the directory correctly.

why? it still doesn't work but if i manually add the dir that would be generated for todays backup, it gets deleted after the error messages. same for the sql file for the access table, in that directory.

there's an error somewhere else. either in the script or in the webhost's configuration.
our server runs PHP Version 5.1.6 with MySQL 4.1.14

Not exactly, openbasdir is a system in php that restricts what files it can write to, you can only write to files within the paths listed in the error. You really need to speak to your host, or use a path within those allowed.

i think the 'allowed' path gets screwed up because i see virtually the same path thice, separated by a colon.

will have to talk about this with the host (or uninstall until we found a better one ;-) )

anyways, thanks for your time and i WILL reinstall this when i can get it working!!

Database Backup

An error occured during the MySQL backup. Details (Could not open Destination SQL file for writing.)

(when I selected run now)

Either

1. the path to your backup directory is incorrect; or

2. you forgot to write-enable the backup directory (7-7-7)

Fantastic product, thanks for developing it and sharing.

Seems to work just great for me! Many thanks!

Have two questions about the config file:
What does the options below mean and what effects has the value 1 on these settings?

The first two are self-explanatory: LOCK prevents new data from being added to a tanle while it is being backed up and "REPAIR" checks for and fixes any errors before the backup.

The third combines all of the individual tables into a single SQL file if set to 1; if left at 0, you get separate files for each table in the database.

Aha, I understand then!
* It feels "safest to have LOCK and REPAIR set to 1, but is it really so?
* Are there any disadvantages to backup into one single SQL file?

I believe it is safer, yes.

If you are running your own MySQL queries that may have the possibility of messing up one of the tables, it's a good idea to do a backup first. If it's NOT a combined-file backup, it's easier to restore just that single table. Beyond that, it's normally easier to have the backup in one file for restore operations and for disk space reasons.

Points to note;

If you lock the tables then your forum will not be usable during a backup.

On larger databases, a repair can take a long time to run.

Question: I didn't know that *not* locking the tables during a mysqldump was even an option... In your opinion is it relatively safe, provided that my board is OFF, to not lock tables during a dump? If so then this will be better than MysqlHotCopy for me, which locks the whole shebang and results in dropped/timeout connections even when the board is turned off, during a live backup)...

Usually if your board is off / closed, the only inserts it will still try to make is for session stuff. Of course your staff needs to know that when the board is closed not to make posts or anything as that could lead to data inconsistencies.

Thanks, that makes sense.

Last question I promise :)

Is this method of backing up recommended on dual-server setups (www + db)? I guess all the backup .sql ends up on the www server..

It ends up wherever you point the backup path.

I don't think I am having problems. I am just totally confused. I installed it. I have it showing up on my Manage Products. I only changed one line in the mysqlbackupconfig.php, which was where I wanted my backups to go.

As to: Alter the timing of the cron job to suit.
I have no idea how to do that, or where to access it at.

Also I don't know how to access the profuct either, I don't see it anywhere on my ACP.
I would like to set it to where it backs up every day at a certain time, at like 4am if that is possible.

And one more thing... is this like the Database Backup, where it incudes every table and such?

EDIT: Ok, I didn't know it was under Scheduled Task Manager, I was looking in Scheduled Task Log.
I ran it, it ran good, but one thing, I don't want every single line of sql. I would like it to just be one file, just like on the Maintaince Database Backup. How do I go about that?

EDIT x2: Read up, and got my answer.
ONE LAST THING!
I ran the complete back up, and it came to be 12220k using the Task Manager backup.
When using the Maintaince Database Backup, it comes to be 12485k. Anything to be worried about here?

Nope, nothing to worry about.