database backup feature won't work

[thoroughfare]

Hi,

The database part of the site backup feature isn't working on the server I'm on at ProWebSpace. When you download the backup, it creates the username_database.sql files, but they're zero bytes big. I know that there's plenty of data in the databases too.

It's the same on 3 of their servers, and all several accounts (all the ones I've created have had this problem, and there are other PWS users experiencing this).

Any ideas what could be wrong?

Many thanks,
Matt :D

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

This might be related to a past bug.
http://www.directadmin.com/features.php?id=126

Try changing your da password, and then changing it back again. The original password provided when your account was created might be in the database for your username instead of the current password. The password that is passed to mysql when you do a backup is the current one you use when accessing the panel, so they might not match, thus giving you an empty backup.

Fix: reset your password (change and change back)

Let me know if that doesn't do it.

John

[thoroughfare]

Thanks John, I'll try that :)

[Telfie]

I have tried this after having the same issue and still can not backup using the facility.

Also, when accessing phpMyAdmin via DA, I am shown the Database name but not the structure as it states that there are not tables.

I know it is there as the website is functioning and it reads the information from the database.

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

Something is up. I'm thinking the wrong db might be selected? I'm just guess and would have to have look. (Having no tables would explain an empty db dump). If you want me to look at it send all your user info (login and password) as well as the db you are using, the db username and db password, and of course your domain/ip to support@directadmin.com

John

[thoroughfare]

NB: I'm a web developer, and I've had this problem with several of my current projects which use databases.

HTH,
Matt

[Telfie]

Thanks John

When I was getting the information together it hit me like a baseball bat ... Some goose ... me ... was using a database that was under my reseller name ir reseller_dbname NOt user_dbname.

Now for the life of me I am not sure how this occurred other than than the probability that I was in the reseller when I created.

I have run a backup and it does backup the database now so that is a good thing. I can also see the database via the admin section.

For the others having this issue, I guess it is a case of checking that the database is in the user account ie user_dbname. If not, better do some quick dancing :)

[thoroughfare]

Success!

I did the following:

This might be related to a past bug.
http://www.directadmin.com/features.php?id=126

Try changing your da password, and then changing it back again. The original password provided when your account was created might be in the database for your username instead of the current password. The password that is passed to mysql when you do a backup is the current one you use when accessing the panel, so they might not match, thus giving you an empty backup.

Fix: reset your password (change and change back)


And it worked! Thanks John :D

Matt :)

[thoroughfare]

Hey,

I'm still getting this problem with new accounts I've just set up, and I don't wanna reset passwords as it's more hassle for my users.

Please DA, do you have a permanent solution?

Thanks,
Matt :)

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

This shouldn't be happening anymore, the system user is setup on each and every database created, as they are created, using the password used to login to the panel. Note that if you are logging in as a Reseller, the password used to access that db for the User will be the Reseller's password, so you have to make sure to login as the user if you are doing any database work for them. Let us know if that doesn't solve it for you, else send us your account info and we'll have a look.

John

[thoroughfare]

Note that if you are logging in as a Reseller

Do you mean when I log in to the reseller control panel, then find the user, then click 'log in as XXXX'?

So I need to log in directly as the user? How do I do that without their password? My reseller password doesn't work with individual users either.

Cheers,
Matt :)

[DirectAdmin Support]

To log in as one of your Users with your Reseller account, use
username: resellername|userusername
password: resellerpassword

where resellername is the username of the Reseller, userusername is the username of the user your're logging into and resellerpassword is the password of the user.

* But this won't work for backing up your User's databases.

The reason you have to login using just "username" with *their* password is that the username and password for their account is derived from the login information, and your reseller password doesn't match the database login password that is set for their databases.

John

[thoroughfare]

Thanks John, I understand now, but...

If I can't log in to their account (for database purposes) using my reseller password, how do I know what their password is, since they change it themselves? I could just change it to something else but then I'd have to tell them about the new password, and it may annoy them. It's just too impractable.

Can you come up with a solution?

Many thanks,
Matt :)

[thoroughfare]

*bump* :D

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

Yes, that would with the user transfer/backup feature for Resellers and Admins (hopefully, next few months). The current backup tool is designed for existing user accounts on the same server.

John

[thoroughfare]

Thanks John :D

BTW I'm moving to a VDS very soon and I've chosen to use DA for my customers :) Your panel and support are excellent.

[sander815]

is it still so that a new created user has to change his password for the mysql backup to work?
I thought this was solved....

I just trie dit, and the mysql db is still empty, after changing the passwd to another and back, it worked

[DirectAdmin Support]

If an account is really old, he might still have to do it. New accounts shouldn't have the problem.

John

[sander815]

nop, its still not working right overhere

i created a new user somne days ago
created a backup, mysql is empty
changed pswd, changed it back, mysql backup is ok

after a few days i tried it again, exactlly the same problem

right now i am doing a backup, and the mysqp is empty again!

problem doesn't seem to be solved

[thoroughfare]

Same here...

Matt (using DA v1.20.4)

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

I'd like to have a look at the account that isn't working. If you could send an email to support@directadmin.com with the ip, root password, da login/pass, the domain name and database name, I could have a look and see what's up.

John

[ProWebUK]

I'm thinking that this is a bug not in DirectAdmin but rather mysql.

Ensim has this exact problem although it states when you first open the panel, you *must* change your mysql password to gain access. This is probably a cover up for the problem that DirectAdmin is currently facing.

Can you log into phpMyAdmin / MySQL (directly, through shell) before modifying the password?

Chris

[DirectAdmin Support]

I'm thinking that instead of using their login username/pass, we could just use the da_admin login/pass, which will have access over all databases and won't have password problems..

John

[sander815]

Originally posted by DirectAdmin Support
Hello,

I'd like to have a look at the account that isn't working. If you could send an email to support@directadmin.com with the ip, root password, da login/pass, the domain name and database name, I could have a look and see what's up.

John

our server details where i have this problem with have been mailed yesterday

ip: 81.23.xxx.xxx

[sander815]

uhm i seem to know what the problem is:
when i login as reseller and then login from my reseller account to the user account the backup isn't working

If login directly into this users account, the backup of the mysql is included. Obviously this isn't a solution, cause from 90% of my accounts i don't know the password, cause users change it


please, solve this problem, cause its pretty annoying....

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

There isn't whole lot we can do. The mysql username/password used to access mysql is deteremined from the login/password used to login to DirectAdmin, so natually, your Reseller password won't match the User's mysql password. I'll look into using the root mysql account to do the dump.. but that's a bit of a security risk.. I'll look into it to see if it's possible to do (I agree that it's a bit confusing)

John

[puntingworld]

Hi,

I'm using DA 1.21.0 and I have this problem as well. Tried the changing passwords trick and it still doesn't seem to work. It did work back in December but suddenly stopped. I have a feeling it was when my host upgraded DA. I'm with Tektonik.

Any further suggestions?

[DirectAdmin Support]

Hello,

Right now, the database dump uses the da_admin loging/pass to dump the databases.. DA just does a check to ensure that the database belongs to the correct person. This allows Resellers to dump the DB using the "login as" feature.

So passwords used by the user really have no affect for the "Download" link on the MySQL screen in DA.. so if the dump isn't working.. I'd recommend trying to manually do it with the da_admin login/pass from the command line to see what it spits out.

cat /usr/local/directadmin/conf/mysql.conf
to get the da_admin login/pass
/usr/bin/mysqldump -u da_admin -p --add-drop-table --all --extended-insert --quick --no-create-db username_dbwhere username_db is the database name.

John

[puntingworld]

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been dashing about the country this week.

Thanks for the answer, that may go some way to explaining my problem as I'm an admin but not the root user. I'll need to get the password to that from my partner.

That said, it used to work for my login but suddenly stopped.

Let you know how I get on once I've spoken to my partner.