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netrider
10-26-2005, 12:41 AM
Refer: https://www.powervps.com/support/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&id=84

In the above linked knowledgebase entry, it states:
"If you restore from backups it will replace the entire vps and overwrite any new files you currently have as well"

As I experienced, it doesn't just "overwrite any new files", but deletes them.

I did a dump of our mysql database prior to running the install and placed the dump files in the home directory. The thinking being that these new files that didn't exist in the backup I was restoring would still be there after the restore recovered it's files. I could then restore our database records without losing anything. This wasn't the case, and the database dump files didn't exist after the restore.

As I found, the restore completely wipes your whole VPS blank first (removing/deleting it entirely) and then restores the files to the point of your backup.

My reading of the kb entry was that it replaced the entire vps with the contents of your backup, overwriting any files that exist in the backup with the one's from the backup, and thus any files not in the backup would remain.

I think the kb entry is a bit ambiquous about that fact that the whole VPS is completely wiped/removed (including any files that don't exist in the backup set/file), so thus I thought I'd share with the forum on my experience.

Timing was approximately 3 hrs to perform the restore, during which you entire VPS is disabled and un-available (web, dns, ssh, ftp, etc.) You can only get visibility through Power Panel, which refreshes every 10mins or so and gives you a percentage status of the recovery.

charles
10-26-2005, 07:19 AM
The intent of the FAQ was to warn you of exactly this when saying "If you restore from backups it will replace the entire vps". I have tried to make it more clear.

charles

chief
12-29-2005, 06:00 PM
I'm somewhat confused about this. What is the difference between the VPS backups and cPanel backups? Do I need to bother backup up my data locally?

charles
12-29-2005, 06:08 PM
Please read the KB article, and let me know if you still have questions.

https://www.powervps.com/support/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&id=84

hth
charles

charles
12-31-2005, 02:54 AM
Chief, the key difference is that cpanel backups contain all (and only) the files needed to restore an account, and the restore process itself can modify files to make changes specific to that restore. The full VPS backups backup everything, which is great for system restores, but not good if you wanted to restore an account that you accidentally deleted say. Take /etc/shadow for example - you wouldn't want to restore a few days old copy of it just to get a single user's old record back.

hth
charles

power
01-08-2006, 08:35 AM
Can I make a complete backup of my VPS and download it ?

charles
01-08-2006, 10:03 AM
Can I make a complete backup of my VPS and download it ?

Yes, just do a full backup from the power panel (or ask us to) and ask support to make it available to you for download. You'll need enough disk space on your VPS for the backup, and then will want to remove it before the next daily backup run.

charles

sitearsiv
02-04-2006, 05:00 PM
tanks you.

liam
02-06-2006, 07:47 AM
I've found that it often says in PowerPanel, that there is no backups for my VPS.... does anyone have the same problem?