Backup MySQL via FTP

[Rob_York]

Hi everyone,

I've been doing some reading about backing up MySQL databases via FTP. Are there any known issues with this on the Powweb servers?

I may be getting the wrong end of the stick but as Powweb is a shared hosting platform (and therefore the actual server upon which a website is based can be changed) could this cause problems?

Thanks,
Rob

[Dbrazzell]

I suppose you could create a script that runs as a scheduled job and dumps the MySQL database to a .sql file in the account.

Then you have another script running somewhere else that ftps into the account and downloads this file.

I dont expect there to be any issues with this. Just make sure the script tidys up and doesn't leave hundreds of copys of the database in the account.

[YvetteKuhns]

I don't like the idea of sending databases by mail. They are large files and mail is insecure. Saving database backups on the web server is also a security risk, but you can upload to a directory that is password-protected.

. Just make sure the script tidys up and doesn't leave hundreds of copys of the database in the account.

Amen! Also clear out old session files on your server.

I never ran a cron job to backup databases. I always manually exported the file and inspected it to make sure it was complete and at least as large as the previous backup. Those large databases can be a problem and scripts may time out before the download is completed. The BigDump script can solve that problem.

[Rob_York]

Hey guys, sorry for the slow reply!

Thanks fo the tips, I'll look into getting something set up (when I finally get the website up that is!) :D

Rob