Backing up Forum & Database

countryside

Active member
Hello,
How do y'all backup your forum and database? Do you send it off your server? I would love to know a good method, as I am very new to this sort of thing.

Thanks,
Noah
 
Do NOT... and I repeat DO NOT rely on phpMyAdmin for any backups. To often have people used it and then the backup is corrupted because of timeouts that occurred and they only received a partial dump of the DB.
And you should be able to set up rsync if you have a Linux/Mac computer at the house. I think there are some rsync type utilities for Windows also (don't do Windows any more myself).
Personally, I run a mysqldump on the server (and also a recursive archive of the actual vhost directory) and keep a copy on my local server and then out to the NFS attached space that OVH provides on my server option.
 
With some clicks you can make recurring backups locally to the server where your site is hosted:
https://xenforo.com/community/resources/solidmean-forumbackup.3605/

See also the related resources to this resource (on bottom of the page), where you can make transfers via the addons to your local machine, to another server or to a dropbox account.
I am using the above, but I would prefer to not store backups on my server. Which is why I want a way to get it locally on my compter.

Personally, I run a mysqldump on the server (and also a recursive archive of the actual vhost directory) and keep a copy on my local server and then out to the NFS attached space that OVH provides on my server option.
What type of server do you have? VPS of dedicated? I have a OVH VPS Tier 3 SSD and it doesn't do snapshots/backups.
And you should be able to set up rsync if you have a Linux/Mac computer at the house. I think there are some rsync type utilities for Windows also (don't do Windows any more myself).
I have a Mac currently, so I will look into this.
 
What type of server do you have? VPS of dedicated? I have a OVH VPS Tier 3 SSD and it doesn't do snapshots/backups.
EG32 (dedicated). It comes with 500GB backup storage that I have set up to use as an NFS drive. I think their VPS's offer a snapshot ability for an additional fee.
 
@Noah Betz absolutely do not use snapshots or on-site backup storage as your sole means of backups. It's completely unsafe to do.

Using that backup space is fine, but you still want to have a local copy as well. If the entire datacenter goes down and you need your backup to move elsewhere, having your backup in the same datacenter as your server will do you no good. If something happens to that datacenter, your backups are gone permanently.
 
Hello,
How do y'all backup your forum and database? Do you send it off your server? I would love to know a good method, as I am very new to this sort of thing.

Thanks,
Noah

I do a daily mysql dump and rsync my site to another server.
 
Hello,
How do y'all backup your forum and database? Do you send it off your server? I would love to know a good method, as I am very new to this sort of thing.

Thanks,
Noah

phpMyAdmin or MySQLDumper (recommended).

Doesn't MySQLDumper and phpMyAdmin backup to your server though? Is there an option to back it up either to a local computer?

You can download the database after.

With some clicks you can make recurring backups locally to the server where your site is hosted:
https://xenforo.com/community/resources/solidmean-forumbackup.3605/

See also the related resources to this resource (on bottom of the page), where you can make transfers via the addons to your local machine, to another server or to a dropbox account.

Do NOT... and I repeat DO NOT rely on phpMyAdmin for any backups. To often have people used it and then the backup is corrupted because of timeouts that occurred and they only received a partial dump of the DB.
And you should be able to set up rsync if you have a Linux/Mac computer at the house. I think there are some rsync type utilities for Windows also (don't do Windows any more myself).
Personally, I run a mysqldump on the server (and also a recursive archive of the actual vhost directory) and keep a copy on my local server and then out to the NFS attached space that OVH provides on my server option.

I am using the above, but I would prefer to not store backups on my server. Which is why I want a way to get it locally on my compter.


What type of server do you have? VPS of dedicated? I have a OVH VPS Tier 3 SSD and it doesn't do snapshots/backups.

I have a Mac currently, so I will look into this.

Use the WinSCP plugin then.

EG32 (dedicated). It comes with 500GB backup storage that I have set up to use as an NFS drive. I think their VPS's offer a snapshot ability for an additional fee.

It is for Windows only, and I have a Mac.


Thanks!

@Noah Betz absolutely do not use snapshots or on-site backup storage as your sole means of backups. It's completely unsafe to do.

Using that backup space is fine, but you still want to have a local copy as well. If the entire datacenter goes down and you need your backup to move elsewhere, having your backup in the same datacenter as your server will do you no good. If something happens to that datacenter, your backups are gone permanently.

This 100%.

You need to automate your backups and host them off site.

I do a daily mysql dump and rsync my site to another server.
So, let me explain what I just got setup (please let me know if this is a good system):
  1. ForumBackup by @SneakyDave runs everyday at midnight on my database and forums.
  2. It then gets saved to a private directory on my server.
  3. My Mac then copies the files in that specific directory that is on my server 10 minutes later (through the built in application, Automator).
  4. After copying the files, they are then put in an encrypted folder on an encrypted disk. I only store 7 database and forum backups at a time, but am thinking about doing 31 (one month worth).
Let me know if this sounds good to y'all!

Thanks,
Noah
 
If you can restore your data and site successfully, then I suppose it works. If you don't know, spin up something temporary and test it.
 
If you can restore your data and site successfully, then I suppose it works. If you don't know, spin up something temporary and test it.
This no longer works, as the only SFTP client that connects to Finder for this is no longer working.

Still searching for methods.
 
I run XAMPP on a offline dev box.

Initially Ill run the full version install of Xenforo to get a base going that I know is tested good.

Then I use 8wayrun XenUtilities ( Its paid , but its basically an automated turn off the forum , backup the mySQL kind of affair )

I dont know if you have Shell access or stuck with a control panel ? Have a look at Sypex Dumper.

Either way , these will dump the database backup to a folder on your server.

You can then FTP in and download your backup to your local box.

I then often use BigDump ( its a php file that helps with larger DB ) to my local MySQL server.

You will need to change your config.php to reflect the fact that you are now wanting to use the newly imported database , so you will have to change the username , password and database.

You might get a few errors if you have lots of plugins. I typically also download the library\addon folder just to assist.
 
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