What's happening with the Forums

redux

It's odd that (most but not all) posts before October 2004 are still there ....... or perhaps they are stored on a different server

scheming_gypsy

possible that they were restored from a different backup

Alfie_E

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

the first incremental backup run in june would have to do a backup of all files modified since the last backup - ie everything as all files were changed since the last backup (none). From then on all files, the database, would be modified and backed up.

Not necessarily. Backing up a big database, and that’s what the forum is, is not quite the same as backing up the files on your home computer. While you can use back-up software that runs outside the database system, this tends to mean taking the database off-line and making a single snapshot. Trying to make incremental backups this way is hard. The external software will see that just about every file associated with the database has changed. While it’s possible to make incremental backups of arbitrary files, it’s a whole lot better to back up from within the database system itself. The system will be able to exploit the internal structure of the files to make quick efficient backups.

The vBulletin forum software is built on top of the open source relational database management system called MySQL. You might like to look at the Backup and Recovery section of the MySQL Reference Manual. I suspect that the MSE forum database backup was an automated process using a customised script. If you’re relying on customised code to perform backups, it’s quite possible for changes to happen in the system as a whole that don’t get reflected in the back-up code. This is especially true if the changes themselves happen at another time of crisis, which seems to be the case. You can then end up with an incomplete backup.

I can understand why Martin might be spitting bricks. This sort of problem is just about excusable in a small office with a handful of staff and computers. But, it’s appalling if it’s the result of failings in a large professional IT company. As I’ve said on another thread, you only know your backup works when you come to use it. Because of this, backups should be tested. Periodically, you should take a separate clean machine and go through the process of reconstructing your IT systems using only your backups.

rrickyuk

Good luck, you'll get there Martin, it'll just take time. It sounds like you have a great team around you. i was a little bereft, as i am sure many of us were, when it all went pear-shaped, but you are getting there.

Don't let the b:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:s get you to stop the important work you are doing.

jamesd

Alfie E, the most significant backup option for MySQL database is replication to a database slave server with the option to retain relay logs turned on, then daily backups of the whole database directory and the relay logs with something like gzip, while the MySQL server on the slave is shut down temporarily. This gives you the snapshot backups and the option to use a backup plus log replay for point in time recovery from a nasty event like drop table, because you can recover to just before that point. And of course you don't throw these backups away quickly - half terrabyte or terrabyte drives are cheap. So throw as many of them at the DBA and web people as they think they can use...

For disaster protection there can also be a slave running on a remote location via a VPN connection so that there's a continuously updated offsite backup.

Replication slaves used solely for backup don't need to be as fast as the normal servers. I've done it with plain web servers doing other duty so long as they are sufficiently fast to keep up - and there are various settings like delay_key_write that can help them to do that but have gotchas that can rule them out for the master.

If you need faster failover you'd perhaps add DRBD on an identical server with heartbeat to control failover to the mixture. But you can still benefit from a replication slave or two to make it easy to take backups.

The webmaster probably still has my contact details, so if MSE has any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask me to take a look.

Never trust your hosting company to get it right is also a good rule. It's not their data or reputation that's directly harmed.

Sorry to the non-techies. There's just too much here to translate but it's a bit like arranging for a webcam to display your security camera pictures on a web site than having a program saving the snapshots at a friend's house. Thief steals the home computer but you still have the copies at the friend's house to catch them with.

tealady

Waaaah? All that just went over my head at the height of a space satelite. Glad Martin and the team know what to do. They deserve a medal.

funkymum13

tealady wrote: »

Waaaah? All that just went over my head at the height of a space satelite. Glad Martin and the team know what to do. They deserve a medal.

Likewise!!!! Too early for me to cope with big words!!!

~Chameleon~

Edinburghlass wrote: »

woooo hoooooo

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:E72T6hQEI-YJ:forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html%3Ft%3D400981+Reclaim+Bank+Charges+Help+Thread&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1

The thread's empty when I click on that link

Also, the ones you posted further down, same thing is happening as the archive site. The front page looks like the old one but as soon as you attempt to navigate the pages it shows posts as they currently are today, i.e. the lose weight thread front page jumps from January to June once you've moved off the front page.

Madjock

MSE_Martin wrote: »

Hi folks, that's old cache may be useful if we can't find it.

As an ultra back up. We could get a team of volunteers to go reposting important posters and stickies and building them with info. Its a great idea and nice to know there's a back up.

The joy of this site is I know if we need that help that many regulars would give up some time to put it all back together.

Martin

Does that include all of SP's posts? :money:

passion8

jamesd wrote: »

Sorry to the non-techies. There's just too much here to translate but it's a bit like arranging for a webcam to display your security camera pictures on a web site than having a program saving the snapshots at a friend's house. Thief steals the home computer but you still have the copies at the friend's house to catch them with.

As a non-techie, I'll just say thanks for this simpler explanation

Good luck to the team that are working as hard as they can to restore normal service x