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Backupsy - a 3 week review
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Backupsy - a 3 week review

SplitIceSplitIce Member, Host Rep
edited August 2013 in Reviews

This is a 3 week review of Backupsy my new backup provider.

Replication of a 100GB MySQL database with about 1TB of updates and inserts per month is so far going good, barely any CPU usage and IOWait once the server caught up. So far haven't been told im using too much resources with the replication. It is on the NL node so I should be allowed a bit more processing power there, it remains to be seen if I can replicate it to the US (but most likely not do mysqldump's as those DO use CPU).

Currently doing mysqldump + lmza for transfer to a local long term backup storage, so far I haven't had any complaints about the CPU usage for the period LMZA is running.

Pros:

  • Network speed as tested from a 100mbit server seemed good sitting close to 80mbit (what I limited the transfer at) for most of a 100GB transfer over SSH (rsync). I haven't tested gbit yet, nor do I expect to have the need to. Certainly seems like there is enough network available for large transfers.

  • Support was very good during a turbulent setup (problems with the DHCP server assigning IPs). Reply's were quick and actually solved the problem. Got a manual upgrade so that I didnt need to manage two services and a transition etc. Was annoying that they couldn't resize the KVM disk (its can be a difficult task so it is understandable).

Cons:

  • It would have been nice if the ram increased with the plans, the servers may not be meant for processing but if you are running a mysql database as a slave and running mysqldump on it for purpose of storage (to be sent offsite to another Backupsy instance) a bit more ram is always nice.

  • It Would be nice if a bandwidth graph was included in the panel, of course you can do this yourself but when isn't a preconfigured pretty picture nice?

Overall - Very impressed, it is delivered as advertised and is a must for anyone with large datasets needing to be backed up.

Note:
Also it could be more useful if it was possible to get different intervals of CPU/IOWait graphs, would certainly have made writing this review easier :)

Tips for those planning on a similar setup to me:

  • ensure relay space is limited, if you leave it unset it will fill up the disk and cause mysql data corruption (and hence a re-sync)

  • be sure to test your backups

  • run the same mysql version on your slave as you do your master, mysql may support one minor version each way but there is know guaruntee (and it might create inconsistencies, as in my case

  • ensure you monitor the slave status with a monitoring server (with alerts). MySQL slaves are easily broken.

Comments

  • serverianserverian Member
    edited August 2013

    Thanks a lot for the review. One thing I should reply is the disk resize. I'm not sure how this haven't handled for you. It's a pretty straight forward task. Can you please PM me your ticket ID and I can have a look at it?

  • ztecztec Member

    Backupsy is exactly what you expect it to be. Which is quiet rare in this industry. Kudos for that.

    Thanked by 1serverian
  • xsetxset Member

    @splitice 100 gb mysql db? What do you run?

  • SplitIceSplitIce Member, Host Rep

    @xset said:
    splitice 100 gb mysql db? What do you run?

    90GB goes to Piwik (free, included extra with X4B services)

    @serverian said:
    Thanks a lot for the review. One thing I should reply is the disk resize. I'm not sure how this haven't handled for you. It's a pretty straight forward task. Can you please PM me your ticket ID and I can have a look at it?

    Sure can do in the morning, it wasn't an issue however as in this case the mysql data was already corrupted (and had to be re-transfered as I didnt limit the relay log size).

  • @ztec said:
    Backupsy is exactly what you expect it to be. Which is quiet rare in this industry. Kudos for that.

    What do you mean? Is there something in the name that invokes a profound sense of tranquility, and lulls one to sleep gently? :P

    Seriously though.. Backupsy rocks. It just works.

    One point of concern for me is regarding passwords. Currently I believe password reset requires a server reinstall, as the panel has no such provision. I have ssh keys set to log me in, however if something happens to my authorized_keys file, and I am locked out, I'd like to rest assured that you can reset my password at my ticket. Can you?

    On openvz, it's as easy as vzctl set 101 –-userpasswd root:newpassword

  • SplitIceSplitIce Member, Host Rep
    edited August 2013

    @joelgm: This is KVM you could be running freedos for all that matters.

  • OliverOliver Member, Host Rep

    @joelgm said:
    One point of concern for me is regarding passwords. Currently I believe password reset requires a server reinstall, as the panel has no such provision. I have ssh keys set to log me in, however if something happens to my authorized_keys file, and I am locked out, I'd like to rest assured that you can reset my password at my ticket. Can you?

    There's a remote console thing there so you can connect and boot in single user mode then reset the root password as if you were sitting at the console of a physical server. This doesn't require intervention of backupsy staff AFAIK.

  • As @Oliver said, reboot to single user mode to reset your root password. Sometimes choosing single user option doesn't actually get you to single user mode on some distros. The most reliable method is to add init=/bin/bash to your kernel line and boot.

  • @joelhm, as @Oliver and @twain said, either we can reset it for you or you can do it yourself by using the out-of-the-band console :)

  • OliverOliver Member, Host Rep

    So many ways to do it! It's like choosing what Turkish Delight to buy in a market in Istanbul!

  • LeeLee Veteran

    I have been using Backupsy for ummm, not sure, couple of months, works the way I want it work, they don't need to speak to me, I don't need to speak to them which means all is fine.

  • BrianHarrisonBrianHarrison Member, Patron Provider

    @W1V_Lee said:
    I have been using Backupsy for ummm, not sure, couple of months, works the way I want it work, they don't need to speak to me, I don't need to speak to them which means all is fine.

    It's funny how that's true. Often times the best relationship between a hosting company and their customer is one that barely exists at all!

  • LeeLee Veteran

    Indeed, I think it's the way of it nowadays.

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