Updraft backup vs BPS DB Backup

[Laurent]

Hi Edward,

What can a backup dedicated plugin like UpdraftPlus do that the in-built DB Backup feature of BPS Pro can’t/doesn’t do (yet)?

For example, can I do a full backup of a preprod site with BPS Pro and import it on my live site?

Many thanks,

Laurent

[AITpro Admin]

BPS Pro DB backup backs up your WordPress database.  BPS Pro does not backup files and I have no intention of adding that.  Files are easily replaced vs your WordPress database data (all of your content for Posts and Pages and all of your option settings for WordPress, Plugins and Themes), which is critical and not easily replaced. So if your development site and production sites are identical – same Plugins and Themes installed then you could export a DB Backup using BPS Pro DB backup and then import that database into another database.  Note: BPS Pro also has an export|import feature if you only want to export|import your BPS Pro plugin settings from one site to another site.  The export|import feature is located on the Setup Wizard page.

UpdraftPlus will backup both files and your database.  So for cloning sites it would be faster to backup both files and your database to create a new clone site.

[Laurent]

Are there other files than those in the media library?

If not, they are really easy to back up and export / import from a site to another, so I can do it manually from time to time and it will be one less plugin on my WP (minimizing the compatibility and security problems it could cause).

Maybe that’s the reason why you don’t use a backup plugin?

Also, I don’t know if it is related to BPS Free or another plugin, but I just noticed that Updraft Plus (FREE) warns me about the following:

“Your WordPress installation has a problem with outputting extra whitespace. This can corrupt backups that you download from here. Follow this link for more information”.

The link is https://updraftplus.com/problems-with-extra-white-space/.

My WP install is pretty minimal:

• no content other than the default content
• a blank theme as I will use Oxygen Builder (and I deleted the default ones),
• WP Reset,
• Updraft Plus Free,
• BPS Free for now ;-),
• Advanced Scripts (an alternative to Custom Snippets),
• WP Grid Builder (an alternative to Facet WP).

Even if I end up deinstalling the plugin, should I ne worried about that?

Best!

[Laurent]

However, there is still one thing that bothers me about using only BPS to make backups of my DB: not being able to automatically back up outside my hosting server.

If the site were to be hacked, it means that the backup data could also be hacked. You don’t have a problem with this personally?

Would you consider offering this feature in the future?

If not, I read in one of your posts that you recommend Duplicator over UpdraftPlus.

Your opinion hasn’t changed since then?

[AITpro Admin]

I have development and production sites that are identical.  When I want to export a production site’s database into a development site’s database I use BPS Pro DB Backup.  Most people would do the reverse – development to production.  Let’s say one of my sites required full restoration – all files and the database.  I would delete all the files (root files, wp-content folder files, wp-admin folder files and wp-includes folder files) and upload new folders and files.  Media files are stored in the WordPress /uploads/ folder.  So I would either make a backup of that folder or just not delete it.  I would then import a backup of my database into that site.  So I don’t need a backup plugin that does file backups since I can delete and upload new files in less time than it would take me to do a full site backup (files and database) and restore.

The Updraft help page is missing another cause for whitespace in files and that is – some FTP applications or host upload or download features add whitespace in files.  Another cause of the whitespace problem in files is using a Browser to upload or download files.  Some people use their Browsers to make FTP connections and uploading or downloading files via a Browser will definitely create whitespace in files.  Regarding what to do to fix that problem, the Updraft help page already explains that.

[AITpro Admin]

When I make DB backups I immediately download them to my computer using the BPS DB Backup download button and then delete the DB backup on my site/server.  You can also have DB Backups automatically emailed to you and deleted on your site/server.  Would I consider adding “off-site” or “cloud” backups.  Nope, don’t trust that and no one else should either in my opinion.  😉  I like full control of my data and don’t like the idea of a middle-man processing, handling and storing my data.

It’s been years since I looked at any file backup plugins.  So I can’t make any recommendations and any recommendations I made years ago may not be valid now.  Look for 3rd party unbiased reviews to see what other people are saying about backup plugins that you are considering using.

[Laurent]

Thanks A LOT for your valuable advice and insights.

There is no hurry for you to reply to what I write below (it’s Saturday after all). 😉

You say:

When I want to export a production site’s database into a development site’s database, I use BPS Pro DB Backup.  Most people would do the reverse – development to production.

=> To avoid any confusion here, do you imply that the DB Backup feature of BPS Pro is legit only from prod to dev? Or do you also use it from development to production?

=> When you migrate from dev to prod, I assume you don’t include the table that welcomes the forum threads/posts and blog comments (otherwise, you would erase the data that got published on the live site in the meantime). Am I correct?

You say:

I would delete all the files (root files, wp-content folder files, wp-admin folder files and wp-includes folder files) and upload new folders and files.

=> Is that files list exhaustive ? Or are these only some examples?

=> Do you also delete the hidden “.” files that may happen to be in those folders?

Overall, if you have some time one day, it would be very interesting / helpful if you could record your screen while doing the whole process manually using BPS Pro (dev to prod, and prod to dev).

It would be one more good reason to buy the Pro version for free users and site visitors and would avoid that guys like me ask you the same questions again and again. 😉

You say:

I would then import a backup of my database into that site.

=> Is the import done using BPS Pro?

As for UpraftPlus, I was referring to that comment of yours:

Found that migration with UpDraft does not overwrite the table prefix in database, it leaves new table prefix, so there is a difference in the old and new site.
Bulletproof of course does not like this. And if bulletproof cannot find the data it thinks is there it causes 507 space errors. Tried reproducing this and had exactly the same problem.
Duplicator Pro creates an exact clone, including table prefix

Steps to get it working is also very easy with Duplicator Pro
1. Migrate/Clone site
2. Run Activation
3. Run Pre setup wizard
4. Run setup wizard
5. and Bulletproof is happy happy happy
Personally would not recommend anyone use UpdraftPlus unless they are an absolute expert.

=> It definitely looks like Updraft is not the best choice for newbies.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for being so available to us!

[AITpro Admin]

BPS DB Backup makes a backup of a website’s database, which you can import into any other website’s database.  Not sure what this is – “I assume you don’t include the table that welcomes the forum threads/posts and blog comments”. When I build a development site I simply export the development site database and import that database into a production site’s database.  Files are files so yep I would delete all files in the case where I was doing a file site restoration, which I’ve never done by the way. I would probably delete folders since deleting a folder deletes all files in that folder (hidden or whatever else).  I would say doing a video of doing a site restoration would be boring as hell and not interesting.  It’s basically a manual site migration, which is yeah – boring as hell.  I use phpMyAdmin in my host control panel to import a database backup. Simple and easy to do with just a couple of clicks.  That was not a comment of mine.  I copied an email sent directly to me and posted that email as a forum topic since that information might be helpful to someone else.

[Laurent]

You say

Not sure what this is…

Let’s say you have a live site with a lot of dynamic content (forum, blog comments).

And you happen to want to make changes on it but you want to test those changes before pushing them.

In that case, you would clone your live site and take all the time you need to test changes on your cloned site.

But once you’re done with your tests and want to push changes on your live site, how do you do?

I mean the database of your cloned site is missing all new posts and comments that got added to your live site during your tests.

So how do you handle it?

[AITpro Admin]

Ok got it.  You would not include the wp_posts and wp_comments database tables in your backup. I’ll use BPS DB Backup as an example.  On the BPS DB Backup page > Create Backup Jobs accordion tab/button > Database Tables column > uncheck the wp_posts and wp_comments database tables.  Since these 2 database tables are not included in your backup then when you import your backup into your site then the existing wp_posts and wp_comments database tables will not be affected/changed.

[Laurent]

Awesome! Thanks. So if I also consider that new users may have created an account on my site during the process, I would also uncheck the wp_users table. Correct? 🙂

It raises a serious question: can a database table get hacked?

I mean let’s say my site just got hacked and I want to restore a previous backed up version.

The hacker knows that I’m less likely to overwrite those 3 tables when restoring a previous version of my site because I’d prefer to avoid losing fresh data (posts, comments, users) that is missing in my previous backup.

If you were the owner of the hacked website, would you take the risk to not overwrite those 3 tables after a hack?

Or would you overwrite them (and accept to lose data) no matter what?

[AITpro Admin]

You would also need to uncheck wp_usermeta, which stores User Account info.  What is a better approach is to do this > All WordPress, Plugin and Theme option settings are saved in the wp_options database table. So in theory if you are making changes to WordPress, Plugin and Theme settings then you would only need to backup the wp_options database table and import the wp_options database table to your production site.

You are giving hackers too much credit.  99.99% of all hacking is automated with hackerbots that use standard attack vectors.  Once the site is hacked by a hackerbot then the human hacker will access your site and do whatever he/she wants to do.

Your other hypothetical questions do not compute.  Cleaning up a hacked website/hosting account is very simple to do, but it is a bit time consuming > https://forum.ait-pro.com/forums/topic/wordpress-hacked-wordpress-hack-cleanup-wordpress-hack-repair/.  I used to offer website/hosting account hack cleanup, but it’s beyond boring to me.  Can’t keep my eyes open doing that boring stuff.

Note:
You would also need to backup any Top Level database tables created by Plugins or Themes.  Example: BPS Pro has several Top Level DB tables >

xx_bpspro_arq_add
xx_bpspro_arq_exclude
xx_bpspro_arq_quarantine
xx_bpspro_db_backup
xx_bpspro_dbm_monitor
xx_bpspro_folder_lock
xx_bpspro_login_security
xx_bpspro_mscan
xx_bpspro_seclog_ignore

[Author]

Posts