Backups of large sites, in steps
Rekhu Builder 0.9.43 makes and restores backups in short steps, so a large site on a shared host is no longer cut off halfway.
The first backups of a large real site showed where a shared host draws the line. A backup of almost 900 MB was cut off while its copy went to the account, because the host ends a request that runs too long. From 0.9.43, backups no longer depend on one long request.
Short steps that pick up where they stopped
A backup or a restore now works in steps of about 25 seconds:
- Each step saves its progress. It writes exactly where it stands, and the next step starts from there.
- An interrupted step is done again. When the host ends a step, the work goes on from the last saved point instead of starting over.
- The database is written table by table.
- The files go into zip parts of about 200 MB each. Photos, videos and archives are stored as they are, which is much faster than compressing them again.
- The copy to your account goes on from the last part that arrived.
A restore works the same way. Its progress is kept in files beside the backups, not in the database it is replacing, and it never pauses in the middle of the settings table WordPress needs to start.
What you see
The project's Connection tab shows each step as it happens: tables, files, and how much of the copy has reached your account. "Back up now" is available again as soon as the backup is done.
A backup that a host cut off under the previous version is marked as stopped, so a new one can start right away.