TinyMUX 2.0: BACKUPS Last Update: April 2000 The importance of good backups: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Experienced MUX users will tell you that having a good, recent backup of your database, configuration files, text files, mail db and comsys db is the best defense against data loss. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to deal with random accidents or malicious attacks that wipe out data, but it there are an unfortunate number of cases where these events occur and entire games have disappeared forever because of it. Making a backup: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In pre 2.0 versions of TinyMUX, the way to make backups was to use db_unload to create a flatfile of the database. Making a backup by this method is detailed in several places, including NOTES under the heading 'Changes to dbconvert'. The other method, which has been provided with TinyMUX 2.0, is the use of the included Backup script, which is located in the mux2.0/game directory. This runs the db_unload script for you, collects copies of text files, configuration files, mail and comsystem databases, and then then creates a dated tar.gz file. Storing your backups: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Depending on how much disk space your provider allows you, we recommend that you keep a number of the most recent backups on the machine for ready access. Having to wait while someone ftps the files back to the machine is a tedious process for the person who feels any pressure to restore the game. Be kind to your site admin--give them something to work with. No matter how reliable or redundantly backups are performed on the machine that your game runs on, it is critical that you also store copies of your most recent backups at an offsite location. Again, we cannot stress this enough. When you ftp any file that ends in .gz, you must make sure that the file is moved in 'binary' or 'raw data' mode. Desktop clients vary drastically, but many will move them in binary format automatically. Where you keep them on your own computer is up to you, but it is always a good idea to put them where you can readily access them and move them back to the game machine is best.