Stuck with OnApp: cPanel Restore Failure? We can help you.

Generally, when we try to restore a virtual server from an incremental backup it can fail if there are files protected by the append flag.

As part of our Server Virtualization Technologies and Services, we assist our customers with several OnApp queries.

Today, let us see how we can fix the restore failure issue.

OnApp: cPanel Restore Failure

The list below are examples of the files append flag protects. In addition, cPanel logs use them.

[root@testonapp ~]# lsattr /usr/local/cpanel/logs/
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/license_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/cphulkd.log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/php-fpm
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/license_error.display
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/cpdavd_error_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/queueprocd.log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/session_log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/cpwrapd_log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/build_locale_databases_log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/incoming_http_requests.log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/spamd_error_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/error_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/dnsadmin_log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/access_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/stats_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/cphulkd_errors.log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/update_analysis
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/login_log
-----a-------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/tailwatchd_log
-------------e-- /usr/local/cpanel/logs/api_tokens_log

With the append flag, we cannot rewrite or delete files. However, we can edit them.

Rsync to restore virtual servers from incremental backups fails when it cannot rewrite such files.

For example,

sync: rename "/mnt/onapp-tmp-x62lgr1fnvpaz8/usr/local/cpanel/logs/.tailwatchd_log.pG04ZV" ->
"usr/local/cpanel/logs/tailwatchd_log": Operation not permitted (1)

rsync error: some files/attrs were not transferred (see previous errors) (code 23) at main.c(1165) [sender=3.1.1]

Fatal: Execution of rsync --xattrs --acls --archive --hard-links --delete --numeric-ids --sparse --exclude '/dev/**' --exclude '/proc/**' --exclude '/sys/**' --exclude '/selinux/**' --exclude '/tmp/**' /onapp/backups/m/b/mbwydlyfgraoxe/ /mnt/onapp-tmp-x62lgr1fnvpaz8/ failed

How to solve this issue?

Moving ahead, let us see how our Support Techs fix this for our customers.

• OnApp 5.9

On clouds that run OnApp 5.9-Edge, 5.10-Edge, and 6.0 versions, we format the main virtual disk from UI before restoring a VS from an incremental backup.

• OnApp 5.8 and preceding versions

On the other hand, with OnApp 5.8 or an earlier version, we recommend the following steps:

1. Initially, we take an incremental backup for a virtual server.

To do so, we go to  Dashboard > Cloud > Virtual Servers > VS label > Backups > Files.

Then to take an incremental backup:

• We go to Control Panel > Cloud > Virtual Servers menu.
• Then we click the label of the server to back up.
• Click the Backups tab, then select Files.
• Finally, click the Take a Backup button.

2. The next step is to stop the virtual server.

To do so, our Support Techs suggest:

• Click the Shut Down Virtual Server button.
• In the pop-up box, we can select either the Shut Down VS option or the Power Off VS option.
• Then we click the Apply button to shut down the VS.

3. After that, we start the virtual server in recovery mode.

• To start a VS in recovery mode, we select the Startup on Recovery.
• In the pop-up box, we click Yes.

For VSs with password encryption enabled, the temporary login is “root” and the password is “recovery“.

For VSs with password encryption disabled, we use the “root” password to start up the VS.

4. Then we proceed and access the virtual server via SSH.

5. Run the following commands:

mount /dev/vda1 /mnt/
chattr -a -R /mnt/usr/local/cpanel/logs/

6. Stop the virtual server.

7. Eventually, we restore the virtual server from the incremental backup.

[Need help with the fix? We are here for you]

Conclusion

In short, we saw how our Support Techs help restore the backup.