Importance of Backup

[eUKhost.com]

This forum is for customers suggestions but here is a suggestion from our side. I have included a chat transcript with minor modifications to let you know what can happen to your business when there's no backup with you.

Some young boys make fortune online with their enthusiasm and youth power but this passionate Geeks forget importance of backup. Just read following transcript to see what someone feels after loosing all that was earned through hard work :-

User: hi mrak, im in big problem , i can not enter my website hosting, even the FTP i cant enter it also
Mark: when did this happen ?
User: there is somthing i can not figure it
User: www.domainname.com
User: just now
User: may be i did some thing wrong
User: i dont no
Mark: ok
User: can u chek it for me please
Mark: let me look into it
User: what happen, did every thing erased ?? or what
Mark: nope
User: so
Mark: seems like your IP got blocked in firewall
User: where is the site
User: ???
Mark: website hosting is working for me
User: can u fix it
Mark: do you know what is the SSH port for your server ?
Mark: http://domainname.com/
User: SSH ====> the server details is :

 ip:http://xx.xx.xx.xx:2086/

 port : xxxx password : xxxxxxxxxx
Mark: right now your website hosting is showing directory listing
User: so, everything is erased
User: the files
User: where is the website hosting content
User: the forums
User: the download section ?
Mark: have you done something on the server ?
User: i think i did
Mark: it has no database, no accounts no sign of anything
Mark: :(
User: so every thing erased
User: oohh my god
User: u can not return it
Mark: Mon Nov 20 13:47:03 2006:CREATE:root:root:domainname.com:xx.xx.xx.xx:domainname

1164052197:REMOVE:root:root:domainname.com:domainname

Mon Nov 20 13:51:50 2006:CREATE:root:root:domainname.com:xx.xx.xx.xx:domainname

1164052387:REMOVE:root:root:domainname.com:domainname

Mon Nov 20 13:56:12 2006:CREATE:root:root:domainname.com:xx.xx.xx.xx:domainname


Mark: you deleted your account from WHM
User: so
User: u can not return it
User: im gona cry
User: oh my god
Mark: wait
Mark: let me see if something can be done
User: please
User: do it
Mark: :(
User: damn
Mark: yu deleted that before 20 mins
Mark: its too late now
Mark: you should have told me to make a backup first :(
User: i think that
User: oh my god
User: nothing can be done
User: please
User: tell me if anything can be done
User: pleeeeeeeeeease
User: :(
Mark: server has got only 4 GB of total data right now
Mark: not even a single file or database was backedup
Mark: :(
User: :(
User: im gona cry
User: what is the 4 giga that left
Mark: /usr and /var libraries of server and cpanel
User: so
User: can u prepare it again so i can start new website hosting for the zeron
User: zero*
Mark: yes
Mark: you want me to create it from the WHM ?
User: so do it please
User: i dont no, im really confuse now
User: i can not think of any thing
User: i will contact u later
User: im really sad
Mark: ok
User: thank u Mrak, bye :(
Mark: contact us once you have some peace of mind
Mark: bye

[harry]

Does this mean, this customer has lost all of his data?
Is there is any way to restore it back ?

[eUKhost.com]

He had only 1 drive on his server and a single website hosting running from it. He never considered a backup drive or any configuration from our side to setup weekly or daily backup for his server.

He terminated his account from WHM and close to 100GB data was lost within couple of minutes. He would have never downloaded data of 100GB on his local drive so it seems that we have lost a dedicated server customer.

[ThePants999]

Speaking of backups, have you folks considered offering daily backup (even on-site) of shared servers? I imagine we'd be willing to pay extra for it, and I doubt we're alone.

[Eidolon]

At the end of the day to an extent it is your responsibility to backup your own website hosting. As a general rule of thumb never rely on the web host to have a backup, assume they do not have one. Whilst it seems like extra work for yourself you do not necessarily realise how valuable the backups are until you need them.

In terms of backing up databases I'd recommend downloading a backup once a week. In terms of content on the website hosting I personally always keep a copy of my website hosting files as well as settings files of web-based software on my website hostings.

[eUKhost.com]

Sometimes daily backup is also not sufficient. I cannot imagine loosing data of our billing system of even 1 day as that would result in big loss.

We take weekly backup of shared accounts and once in a month we move that backup to our backup server located in off-shore datacenter. We are considering separate backup service in which we will provide a ftp account to our customers and they can use their FTP space to make daily or weekly backup of their account. In case of linux - cpanel accounts we can setup rsync scripts for customers to have their backup copied daily on their ftp space.

We will start this backup service by the end of this week.