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Check a backup

Updated

The check reads a backup the way a restore would read it, and writes nothing back while doing so. Afterwards you know whether the backup is readable and complete.

What you need

  • a backup that is stored at at least one target. A failed or aborted backup has no copy; there the entry for checking is missing.
  • a moment in which no other job is running.

Step 1: Start the check

Open the Backup page. In the Backups list, click More … in the row of the backup, then Check backup. The Recent backups tile on the Overview page has the same menu.

The “More …” menu of a backup with six entries

  1. Restore
  2. Check backup starts the check.
  3. Lock backup protects the backup from deletion.
  4. Download only appears for a backup that is stored at a local target.
  5. Log
  6. Delete backup

Step 2: Follow the progress

The check runs as a job, like a backup. The Backup tile shows the progress; on the Overview, the status tile does.

The Backup tile while a backup is being checked

  1. The progress begins with Checking backup. Then follow the checked amount and the remaining time.
  2. Abort check stops the check at the next step.
  • At the start, instead of the time, it says calculating the remaining time ….
  • If the backup is stored at several targets, the plugin checks every copy. The line then counts along: Backup … of ….
  • The plugin reads a local folder in place. From a remote target it fetches one part after the other into its work folder, checks it and deletes it there again.

Step 3: Read the result

At the end, a message appears below the tile.

Message Meaning
green
Backup checked: readable and complete. 		Everything is fine, at every checked target.
red
Check: the backup is damaged or incomplete. The log names the parts. 		At at least one target, the backup failed the check. What that means is explained below.
yellow
Check: a target could not be reached; the backup there was not checked. 		The backup therefore does not count as damaged. Test the connection on the Targets page and check again.
yellow
Check aborted. 		You aborted the check.
red
Check failed. 		The check itself failed. The log names the reason.

Red message after a check with a finding

  1. Check: the backup is damaged or incomplete. The log names the parts.
  2. Log opens the log of the check.

A target could not be reached

If the plugin does not reach a target, the yellow message names the target and the cause.

Yellow message after a check: a target could not be reached

  1. Check: a target could not be reached; the backup there was not checked.
  2. The line names the target that could not be reached, and the cause.
  3. Below it is the original message; for an SFTP target, the message from cURL.
  4. Log opens the log of the check.

The mark in front of the date

After a check with a result, the backup carries a mark in front of the date in the list: a green tick or a red cross.

List of backups with the marks in front of the date

  1. A green dot stands in front of a complete backup.
  2. The green tick in front of the date means: checked, readable and complete.
  3. A yellow dot stands in front of a backup with warnings.
  4. The padlock in front of the date marks a locked backup.
  5. A red dot stands in front of a failed backup.
  6. The red cross in front of the date means: the check found the backup damaged or incomplete.
  7. A grey dot stands in front of an aborted backup.
  • If you point the mouse pointer at the mark, a tooltip names the date of the last check: Checked on …: readable and complete. or Check on …: damaged or incomplete.
  • If the backup is stored at several targets, the mark shows the worst result.
  • If a target could not be reached, there is no new result for that target.
  • The coloured dot does not change with the check. It describes how the backup went.

What is checked

The plugin checks the backup at every target where it is stored:

  • Every file of the backup is at the target and has its size.
  • The info file of the backup is valid.
  • Every part has the size and the checksum that the info file states.
  • Every block can be read and unpacked. The number of entries and the amount of data match the info file.

The database is part of it: every table is an entry of the backup.

What a damaged backup means

  • The result applies to the target where the backup failed the check. There it no longer counts for Max. backups.
  • The plugin never deletes a damaged backup automatically. It stays until you delete it by hand: Delete a backup.
  • A restore reads only from a target where the backup is complete. If there is no such target any more, Restore, Lock backup and Download are missing from the menu.
  • If the notification On errors and warnings is switched on, the plugin sends an email after a check with a finding.
  • If a later check finds nothing any more, the backup counts as complete at this target again.

Open the log of the check: it names the affected parts. Then create a new backup with Back up now.

If something does not work

Message What you can do
A job is already running. Wait until the running job has finished, then start the check again.
The backup could not be started: … The check did not start. The reason follows the colon. Show log opens the general log.

Good to know

  • Nothing checks backups on a schedule. The plugin already checks every part while writing it; the check by hand is there for when in doubt.
  • You check all backups of a target in one go on the Targets page with Check the backups at this target.

See also

On the command line

WP-CLI not set up yet? How to install WP-CLI.

The check also works with WP-CLI. You name a backup by its job name; backup list shows it at the start of every line. The result names one line per target.

# Show backups with job name, status and targets
wp cloneworx-backup backup list

# Check a backup at all its targets
wp cloneworx-backup backup check <Job>

# Check only the copy at one target
wp cloneworx-backup backup check <Job> --targets=local-1

# Start the check and leave it to the website
wp cloneworx-backup backup check <Job> --background

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