...had a SCSI controller failure yesterday which resulted in complete data corruption for all sites on that server! No fault tolerance strategy was in place and the data is not recoverable. Three sites I administer were on that server. :bawling:

Luckily my sites were new and pretty easy to reconstruct. I feel for the folks who had large mySQL databases. They have simply vanished from the face of the earth unless a recent manual backup was performed. Lame.

"Lame" is not backing up your files and mysql databases to your local HD on a regular basis and then proceeding to blame your host for a catastrophic failure they couldn't easily have foreseen or prevented....

Server-wide, daily backups are a service that we just recently added to what we provide for our customers. It first went into use on the newest server, host15, when it went up. We still have not added server-wide backups to the list of services we provide with our accounts on our website, because we have not finished testing and implementing the new backup system on all of the servers. The current system for backups in place on all the servers, while not automated backup, does provide a constant and updated backup file for the user to download via their control panel at all times. All new accounts are setup on a server that has the new system in place, and the old servers are going to be switched over to the new system once it is fully tested.

"Lame" is not backing up your files and mysql databases to your local HD on a regular basis and then proceeding to blame your host for a catastrophic failure they couldn't easily have foreseen or prevented

I thought this is why people host with companies. So they do not have to baby-sit their sites everyday. Granted, things happen. But a large hosting company not running RAID and doing back ups is lame. This sort of thing is "easily prevented" with RAID and backups.

Reminds me of the guy who runs a babysitting business. Says "I'll watch them, but I can't guarantee I won't lose them. If I do it is not my fault"

on HR's defense, HostRocket doesn't advertise RAID and backups anyway. So this is something a customer should of asked and at worse case, been prepared for. I know a lot of hosting companies who advertise RAID and daily backups, but have neither.

RAID backups do prevent this type of problem but they do not prevent against hacker attacks on servers. The new system we have protects from both but has not been fully implemented yet... its only on the new servers, which is why we dont advertise it yet.

-Brendan

So basically, he's bitching about a level of backup support that HR never even promised in the first place!


Perhaps he should have asked first before he *assumed* there was something like a raid in place!

I do not think it is up to the host to back up our data. I think it's more like the host is there to babysit the server, we are there to babysit our sites...I back up my database to my drive at least once per day. it's YOUR data, you need to protect it.

BTW, in this case, a scsi card failure , would having raid 1 or even raid 5 have saved the data..



Originally posted by UmBillyCord


I thought this is why people host with companies. So they do not have to baby-sit their sites everyday. Granted, things happen. But a large hosting company not running RAID and doing back ups is lame. This sort of thing is "easily prevented" with RAID and backups.

Reminds me of the guy who runs a babysitting business. Says "I'll watch them, but I can't guarantee I won't lose them. If I do it is not my fault"

on HR's defense, HostRocket doesn't advertise RAID and backups anyway. So this is something a customer should of asked and at worse case, been prepared for. I know a lot of hosting companies who advertise RAID and daily backups, but have neither. :crying: :crying: :dgrin:

BTW, in this case, a scsi card failure , would having raid 1 or even raid 5 have saved the data..

You're joking right??????

As far as "YOUR data, you need to protect it. ". I couldn't agree more. I would be a fool to disagree. I also know that there are some smart people out there with deep pockets. You lose their data, they will pull "Assumption of data integrity" and file suit. "I pay for you to host my files. You are responsible for them." This is why many host will have a disclaimer now. We do, and we even back up.

How do you go about downloading your MYSQL databases from a server to back them up?

I use this shell script to backup the databases and compress the files. Then I use the scripting utility in wsftp to download them to my drive. This script will also e-mail them to you if you want, but I never got it to work that way. The script is part of the thread listed below.

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11977&highlight=Mysql+Backup



Originally posted by Sabre
How do you go about downloading your MYSQL databases from a server to back them up?

So basically, he's bitching about a level of backup support that HR never even promised in the first place!


Perhaps he should have asked first before he *assumed* there was something like a raid in place!

Perhaps I did make an assumption. I am in the IT field and am responsible for setting up and adminstering a number of file servers. I wouldn't dream of letting any server run without some sort of backup strategy in place. My servers all have hardware RAID 5 with differential tape backups. I do accept some blame in assuming HR was being as precautious as me.

Also, as a new customer, I'm just getting used to their control panel and have just found out how to back up the site and mySQL databases (HR has a nice tool for that). Chalk this one up as a learning experience. I'm just grateful my sites were new and I've been able to restore them pretty easily.

On HR's behalf, I must say that they have been keeping their customer's well-informed and for that they should be commended. They also seem to be implementing a better fault tolerance strategy to eliminate this in the future. For everyone else, learn from our misfortunes. Back up your sites regularly and don't assume your host is doing so.

How do you go about downloading your MYSQL databases from a server to back them up?

You can also use the mysqldump utility from the command line (though using a script makes automated backups a breeze). From the command line:

mysqldump -ppassword DatabaseName > yourdb.sql

and to restore a database from a .sql file:

mysql -p dbname < yourdb.sql

Always Always Always have a back up of your websites its just common sense (Im not refering to Mysql) that was the first thing I was taught by a geocities community leader 5 yrs ago when I was a newbie.

To take it a step more I once a week (or after a major change) zip the site to disk and upload it to an online file storage place......call it paranoia but Id rather have my website in tack than try to reconstruct it.;)


look at it as a learning experience, even if a host *promised* to keep a copy of your site accidents happen one must be accountable to ones self ;)