Issue Clone vs Copy Website, Copy didn't work

[larryk]

Server operating system version

CentOS Linux 7.9.2009 (Core)

Plesk version and microupdate number

Plesk Obsidian Version 18.0.50 Update #2, last updated on Feb 27, 2023 02:02 AM

So couple days ago, I clone XYZ . com to stage. XYZ . com

Last night, I tried to copy stage. XYZ .com to XYZ .com and the process went though (I could see the details and logs)... all went according the plan, etc. etc.
The logs show no errors, etc.
HOWEVER, "nothing" was copied????
I did it twice. same result.

I call my support, they saw the same logs, etc.
Support did a clone from stage . XYZ .com to XYZ . com and it worked.

uhmmmm
what is the reason/difference between Clone vs Copy ?
Is there a reason Copy didn't work?

thanks

 

[Peter Debik]

Hi @larryk , I tried to reproduce this and assumed you are talking about WP Toolkit, because only there you have the "Copy" and the "Clone" link. I was unable to reproduce the issue. Could you please provide more details what the copy settings were, e.g. from this screen

 

[larryk]

My settings were same as your, except I unchecked the Restore point (as there wasn't a reason to need that)

Data copy from WP installation completed

Larry Kolinek

Copying of data from https://stage.XYZ.org to https://www.XYZ.org completed.

That is the last log entry, BUT the live site WAS NOT COPIED. So everything appeared to have worked and the copying done, BUT nothing was copied

again, we did a clone from stage to live, and it worked.
WHICH IS why i brought up the question: copy vs clone?

From my last experience, copy not working, but clone does.

copy and clone are same thing???? if not, what or why is there a difference?

thanks

 

[Peter Debik]

Copy should only copy, clone should copy and also copy the database, then update the configuration data for the WP installation to work with the new database.

But back to the issue: As I could not reproduce it here in this case I suggest to open a ticket with Plesk support, so that Plesk engineers can check it directly on your server. It might be a product issue, but it might also have a simple reason such as permission issues.

How to get support directly from Plesk?

Question How to get support directly from Plesk? Answer Lease-type Plesk licenses purchased directly from Plesk running on supported Plesk version include full free support. Perpetual-type license...

support.plesk.com

 

[Kaspar]

Clone and Copy Data perform very similar operations with some subtle differences. The most notable being that Clone let's you clone a WP website to either a new (sub)domain or to an existing domain on which WordPress hasn't been installed. While Copy Data only lets you copy the WP website to an existing domain on which WP is already installed. I hope that explains your question on Copy Data vs Clone.

There are some important caveats when using the Copy Data function which may fail the Copy. From the documentation:

• If the WordPress version on the source website is earlier than on the target website, copying is aborted. To copy data, you need to upgrade WordPress on the source to the version installed on the target or a later version.
• Copying of data between a regular WordPress installation and a multisite one is not supported. We recommend that you use cloning instead.

I tried to replicate the issue you are having on which your website wasn't actually copied. However for me the Copy Data function worked as expected and copied my test WP website to another WP website. Your website might have some specific configuration (like plugins or theme) that causes the Copy Data function to fail without any errors. Which indicates a possible bug in the function.

I recommend contacting Plesk Support so support engineers can investigate the issue directly on your server. More info on getting support from Plesk:

How to get support directly from Plesk?

Question How to get support directly from Plesk? Answer Lease-type Plesk licenses purchased directly from Plesk running on supported Plesk version include full free support. Perpetual-type license...

support.plesk.com

Edit: Peter beat me to it

 

[tjsr2]

Clearly I am late to this thread, but I struggled with the same issue today.

When I click Copy, the following is the default under Database.

• Database Tables >> Choose database tables to copy >> All Tables >> Except (Copy all changes except pages, posts, and users.)

After several attempts to copy my site, I noticed that the EXCEPT checkbox prevents posts, pages, and users from being copied. After clearing that checkbox, everything works beautifully.

So, in my case it was user error. And I think the checkbox could use a better label. For example, include the info bubble text on the screen and bury the table names in the mouseover info bubble.