SID-01802: BackupRestore plugin or manual backup?

Status:	Answered	TWiki version:	5.1.4	Perl version:	5.10.1
Category:	BackupRestorePlugin	Server OS:	Scientific Linux release 6.3, kernel 2.6.32	Last update:	12 years ago

I actually wanted to ask about this: what is the difference between using the BackupRestorePlugin, and backing up the entire twiki folder under /var/www with a cron script? Reading through the official documentation, it seems like the plugin is not good enough to restore an entire TWiki install. It says:

"This plugin backs up page data, attachment data, the plugin workspace area, and the TWiki configuration. However, it does not backup the TWiki engine, additional plugins, and skins you might have installed. It is recommended to do a manual backup of the whole twiki directory after installing plugins and skins. "

http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/BackupRestorePlugin

So what is the difference between zipping through the plugin and zipping manually the entire folder? Is it not easier and safer to do it manually?

-- Jose Mendez - 2013-09-25

Discussion and Answer

The BackupRestorePlugin is designed to backup data on a daily bases, and to restore data if needed (like on an upgrade). At this time it does not do a full backup including the TWiki engine. So yes, a daily cron that backs up /etc, /home, /root, /var/www, and /var/spool/cron is likely a good way for a system backup.

-- Peter Thoeny - 2013-09-26

Thank you Peter, straight answer.

Feature request?? I mean, a TWiki stores whole lot of useful data from an organization. Restoring the entire thing as quick as possible in case of disaster is of utmost importance IMHO.

Regards,

-- Jose Mendez - 2013-09-26

Well, then backup needs to be done platform dependent if you want everything backed up. If the plugin is enhanced to backup also the TWiki engine you are still left without apache configuration and cron configuration. The line needs to be drawn somewhere. TWiki is an open source project. If you need additional functionality you can implement that and contribute back, or you can hire a consultant to do that for you.

-- Peter Thoeny - 2013-09-27

I perfectly understand the open source part, and I agree very much, it is just that I didn't understand the reasons. Sounds fair to me to be honest. Now, why would you need the cron folder to be backed up? Twiki-wise I mean.

-- Jose Mendez - 2013-09-27

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