backup issues after upgrading to 8.1.1 - Specified file is not accessible

[gregconway]

Hi,

After upgrading the first of our many Plesk Servers to 8.1.1, I've hit the traditional backup problems - ie, another plesk update, and the backup no longer works, yet again!

I receive this error if I try to manually backup a site -

Error: Unable to create backup session: Specified file is not accessible

Under SSH I can FTP into the FTP Server, and verify the directory I've specified exists. Everthing looks okay, but Plesk cannot backup. again!

Any ideas?

cheers all

Greg.

 

[Dmitry Frantsev]

Did you try to make site backup manually on the server? Try to use PRODUCT_ROOT_D/bin/pleskbackup utility for this.

Also make sure that backup and migration packages have been really upgraded.

 

[gregconway]

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

I checked the Server updater, and it tells me everything is up-to-date.

I ran the backup manually (./pleskbackup -v domains domain.com /tmp/domain.com.plesk.backup), and this worked fine.

I've also brought across my own server-wide backup script, which uses pleskbackup, and this works fine.

So it seems the problem is within the new GUI - maybe the 8.1.1 GUI is looking in the wrong place for the pleskbackup utility, from the error I'm received?

What files should I be examining to check this? Or what else would you suggest I should try from here?

Some further info, if it helps.... the site I'm trying to backup is a site that's been restored from a plesk 8.1.0 Server. The source Server was based on FC3, and the new Server is FC4. I know this causes problems with installed site applications and the like, as the paths to http locations (for example) have changed from FC3 to FC4, but we haven't had any backup problems due to this before!!

Many thanks.

Regards,

Greg.

 

[gregconway]

Ah I forgot, of course this manual backup excludes the FTP procedure, so maybe the problem is there instead? just a thought!

 

[c0d3x]

the same here, any news on how to fix this?

 

[gregconway]

Hi - nope, nothing yet.

However, I am happy to report that the 'report errors to an Email address' facility works fine - I now have 568 emails telling me that the backup isn't working for this one Domain!

Any ideas anybody?!

 

[c0d3x]

At least the "report errors to email" feature works for you for me not

 

[Subsonix]

I have the same problem, I can not backup any more with Plesk 8.1.1!

 

[gregconway]

Still not working... I'm actually getting two error emails per domain, so c0dx3 - seems I've got yours, soz about that!

Plesk - please help us! can you please please pretty please tell me where on my Plesk Server I can find the script that's called when I click the 'backup' button, or the scheduled backup kicks in.

I get the same error (Unable to create backup session: Specified file is not accessible) whether I try and create a manual or an FTP backup, so methinks that in a few rogue upgrade cases, the script has ended up with the wrong filename for the backup utility, or the permissions are wrong, something like that... maybe! Worth a look!

Please help us to find a solution - where is this file located?!

cheers,

GC.

 

[c0d3x]

bump!

 

[Speedb]

Please keep in mind that starting plesk 8.1.1 you need a large /tmp directory to backup your files.

Each domain is first stored in the /tmp directory before it is written to the actual backup file. If your /tmp directory is smaller then your largest domain, the backup will fail.

Since I have a 15GB /tmp directory now I can backup again. Just a suggestion. (Previous backup files were no bigger than 5GB, now they go up to 25 again)

 

[c0d3x]

the tmp directory is free of space, and the whole backup of my domains is 1gb...

 

[gregconway]

Hi,

The Server I am working on is a brand new Server (hence why I'm not too stressed about this one atm - I'll be far more stressed once I've sorted this one out and move onto the live servers!) - there is only one domain set up on this Server, and approx. 100Gb space available within the /tmp drive - so don't think that's my problem! Thanks anyway though for the hint, more then we're getting from plesk atm!

Plesk please help us!!!

cheers

greg.

 

[gregconway]

I've had a look at this tonight myself, as far as I can.

I've examined the pleskbackup script, and ascertained that the error I'm receiving (Unable to create backup session: Specified file is not accessible) does not appear within this file, so it seems that the problem is not with the pleskbackup script (which runs fine manually), the problem would seem to be somewhere before this.

The file that presumably should call pleskbackup seems to be called new_backup.php, located in /usr/local/psa/admin/htdocs/backup. I've tried to examine this file, but it's encrypted, so that's a dead end. Unless anybody knows how to break the encryption?! (joke!)

I've tried resetting the file permissions and ownership on the pleskbackup script, but the same error persists.

I've completed removed the (bastille) tmp defence systems I was running, in case that was affecting the script - although this works fine on other Servers, with previous versions of Plesk.

I've gone through all the Server log files, and can't find anything useful in there.

I've tried creating more sites, and backing them up, and the same problem persists.

And I've had a general hunt around for anything else I can do, and I'm stumped. Still doesn't work.

 

[ramprage]

Custom Plesk Backup Script Here

Well as you know the backup script/system built into plesk is not reliable.

I have created a custom script and will continue to support and make changes to it. The script works through shell access, I can help you configure it if you need assistance. It's in early stages but I'm open to anyone using it.


Tested on:
Plesk 8.1.1
Linux CentOS 4.4

The script does:

- backs up each user account locally, each in a separate file, to the local path you specify

- Remotely FTP transfers all the user backups from that day

- Self cleaning removes locally archieved files that are X days old, depending on your backup schedule


I'm making this script free, similar to my Nobody Check security script. There will be an official page on webhostgear.com with this shortly.

If you want it now, PM me. NOTE: no real instructions are available/no installer or polished yet.


Cheers

Steve

 

[c0d3x]

up!!!!!

 

[c0d3x]

finally i solved this problem!!!! it's all about wrong permission in some folders!

check that the folders /var/lib/psa/dumps and /var/lib/psa/dumps/tmp are chmod to 777

 

[gregconway]

yep, works for me as well! nicely found!

 

[npavlidis]

damn

same here .. backup gets stuck when i click sayin "Please wait while retrieving information about FTP repository"
can someone fix the backup system ever? or r we supposed to just buy the acronis solution just for that?

 

[gregconway]

Ahhh - might be able to help you there! we had this problem on another plesk server, where we'd stashed all the backups in a single folder on the FTP server. It was fine to start with, but once we'd got 90 site backups for the past seven days, it started to take a very very long time to be able to scan the FTP repositary! Or it just timed out, which is presumably what you're getting.

(note this never used to happen, as plesk never used to be able to scan the FTP repositary - think this came in with plesk 8.1.0, maybe a bit earlier?)

The solution was to create a separate folder on the FTP server for each individual site, and specify this folder within the FTP repositary, so the backup program only has to read a max. seven previous files - everything worked fine after that. Until the next plesk update came along!

hth,

Greg.