Administrative and Maintenance Tools - vBulletin Cron Based Database Backup

As of 23 Nov 2017 this modification has been withdrawn.

This is a cut down version based on a backup system written by Trigunflame for vb 3.0. It is a simple vBulletin cron trigged php system that does a dump of your database - either as one complete file, or as one file per table. Especially useful now that IB removed the old ACP backup option in vBulletin 4. Files can be (G)Zipped to save space.

All the options are located in the ACP in vBulletin Options >> vBulletin Automatic Backup

To install, download and unzip the files, and follow the instructions in the text file.


History:

v4.0.1 : 28-Dec-2009 : Initial release for vb 4.0.0 Gold.
v4.0.2 : 29-Dec-2009 : Added ability to block process larger tables.
v4.0.3 : 27-Jun-2010 : Added Gzip option.

v4.1.0 : 04-Dec-2010 : Updated for vBulletin 4.1.0.

v4.1.7.0 : 16-Oct-2011 : Updated for vBulletin 4.1.7.

v4.2.0.0 : 24-May-2012 : Updated for vBulletin 4.2.0.
v4.2.0.1 : 17-Mar-2013 : Removed vboptions from backup call..
v4.2.0.2 : 25-Nov-2013 : Fix php 5.3 deprecated warnings, added mysqldump backup.

[Disco_Dave]

Getting this error now after the update:

PHP Code:

Warning: Function set_magic_quotes_runtime() is deprecated in ..../includes/cron/cronbackup.php on line 13

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_IF in /home3/nirc/public_html/forums/includes/mysqlbackup.php on line 597 


[Paul M]

Ok. Fixed both.

Magic runtime quotes is another deprecated function I wasnt aware of, added a php version check for that as well.

The syntax error was a semi-colon that mysteriously went missing, which I have now put back.


This version actually contains some experimental code that attempts to do backups via mysqldump (rather than all via php).

If you want to try that feature, you must edit a line in the mysqlbackup.php file.

PHP Code:

    var $DTYPE = 'php'; // php or mysql 


[Disco_Dave]

Originally Posted by Paul M

Ok. Fixed both.

Magic runtime quotes is another deprecated function I wasnt aware of, added a php version check for that as well.

The syntax error was a semi-colon that mysteriously went missing, which I have now put back.


This version actually contains some experimental code that attempts to do backups via mysqldump (rather than all via php).

If you want to try that feature, you must edit a line in the mysqlbackup.php file.

PHP Code:

    var $DTYPE = 'php'; // php or mysql 


I'll give it a shot now, for adding that code.

Cheers


Edit I can confirm that this

PHP Code:

    var $DTYPE = 'php'; // php or mysql 


works for both php and mysql


Best mod on here!

[Meestor_X]

Ok, I know this isn't your problem, but I could use some advice on how to fix an issue with the automatic backups not completing.
Occasionally, the backup completes. If I try it a number of times, it will complete maybe 1 in 10 times. When it doesn't complete, the backup gets as far as the "user" table and then stops.
I've tried all the settings in the options, like locking, block processing, separate vs single table backups, etc. but nothing seems to fix it.

Just looking for some advice on what setting I might need to change in php or MySQL to stop it from timing out? (I assume it's timing out - I have no access to any logs on the shared server)

[charlesr]

There is probably someone who knows what logs to look in to see the problem, but that's not me.... Meanwhile:

Is the user table ok? Try repairing it. You may need to stop mysql first for a successful repair on the user table:

----------
To repair all the tables in the database in centos we stopped it first.
# /etc/init.d/mysqld stop
Then navigated to the database files:
# cd /var/lib/mysql/[databasename]/
Then run the following command:
# myisamchk -r *.MYI
And once complete restart MySQL:
# /etc/init.d/mysqld start
-----------

If it's ok, then do you have a busy forum / is your server powerful enough? I had some odd behaviour until I upgraded and then everything magically worked perfectly.

[Meestor_X]

Thank you for your reply.
As I mentioned, I'm on a shared server. No SSH, logs or anything useful available.
I can add a php.ini file to make changes and that's about it.
I've repaired the tables using the vBulletin admincp, makes no difference.

I'm hoping there would be a timeout setting that affects whether the backup completes as it's pretty random. I just don't know enough about all the php and mySQL settings.

[charlesr]

If you view php info in vbulletin maintenance area, what are all the timeouts set at?

[Paul M]

Most likely php timing out, but really hard to say.

If you use the latest version, you could try the experimental mysql backup method - see post #952

[RichieBoy67]

This has always worked well for me and I've used it on a few sites for a long, long time. Thanks Paul! one of the most useful mods here.

[BBNZowner]

Figured I should install this now, I keep forgetting to do regular back ups :P