Disaster Recovery
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# Disaster Recovery
This article details disaster recovery strategies for a MediaWiki 1.40 installation. A robust disaster recovery plan is crucial for minimizing downtime and data loss in the event of a catastrophic event. This guide is geared towards system administrators and server engineers new to MediaWiki administration.
Understanding the Risks
Several factors can compromise a MediaWiki installation, necessitating disaster recovery procedures. These include:
- Hardware Failure: Server crashes, disk failures, and network outages.
- Software Corruption: Database corruption, operating system errors, or MediaWiki code issues.
- Security Breaches: Malware infections, hacking attempts, or data breaches.
- Natural Disasters: Fires, floods, earthquakes, and other environmental events.
- Human Error: Accidental data deletion or misconfiguration.
- Backups: Regularly scheduled backups of the MediaWiki installation, including the code, images, and, most importantly, the database.
- Replication: Maintaining a real-time or near real-time copy of the database on a separate server.
- Redundancy: Utilizing redundant hardware and network components to eliminate single points of failure.
- Failover: The automated or manual process of switching to a backup system in the event of a primary system failure.
- Testing: Regularly testing the disaster recovery plan to ensure its effectiveness.
- Asynchronous Replication: The secondary server lags behind the primary server, but it provides minimal performance impact on the primary.
- Semi-Synchronous Replication: The primary server waits for acknowledgment from at least one secondary server before committing a transaction, providing better data consistency.
- Group Replication: Provides high availability and fault tolerance through a distributed consensus algorithm.
- MediaWiki Administration
- Database Administration
- Server Security
- MySQL Replication
- Load Balancing
- Secure Shell
- LocalSettings.php
- PHP Configuration
- Web Server Configuration
- Extension Installation
- Skin Configuration
- Caching
- Performance Tuning
- Monitoring Tools
- Troubleshooting
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Core Components of a Disaster Recovery Plan
A comprehensive plan should cover these critical aspects:
Backup Strategies
Regular backups are the cornerstone of any disaster recovery plan. Multiple backup strategies can be employed.
Database Backups
The database is the most critical component of a MediaWiki installation. Backups should occur frequently, ideally daily. Here's a typical MySQL backup procedure:
```bash mysqldump -u [username] -p[password] [database_name] > /path/to/backup/mediawiki_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql ```
| Backup Frequency | Backup Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Full | 7 days |
| Weekly | Full | 4 weeks |
| Monthly | Full | 12 months |
File Backups
Back up the entire MediaWiki installation directory, including the `images` directory and any custom extensions or skins. Tools like `rsync` or `tar` are useful for this.
Offsite Backups
Store backups in a geographically separate location to protect against site-specific disasters. Cloud storage services are a common choice. Consider using Secure Shell for secure transfer.
Database Replication
Database replication involves creating a copy of the primary database on a secondary server. This provides a hot standby that can quickly take over in case of a failure. MySQL offers several replication options:
| Replication Type | Consistency | Performance Impact | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asynchronous | Lower | Minimal | Low |
| Semi-Synchronous | Medium | Moderate | Medium |
| Group Replication | High | High | High |
See MySQL Replication for detailed instructions.
Failover Procedures
Failover is the process of switching to the backup system when the primary system fails. This can be automated using tools like Pacemaker or Corosync, or it can be done manually.
Automated Failover
Automated failover requires careful configuration and testing. The failover mechanism should monitor the primary server's health and automatically switch to the secondary server if a failure is detected. Consider using a Load Balancer like HAProxy to distribute traffic.
Manual Failover
Manual failover involves manually promoting the secondary server to become the primary server. This requires a trained administrator and a well-documented procedure. Steps include:
1. Stop the primary MediaWiki server. 2. Promote the secondary database server to be the primary. 3. Update the `LocalSettings.php` file on the new primary server with the correct database credentials. 4. Restart the MediaWiki server. 5. Update DNS records to point to the new primary server.
Server Configuration Specifications
The following table outlines recommended specifications for both the primary and secondary servers.
| Component | Primary Server | Secondary Server |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 8 Core Processor | 4 Core Processor |
| RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 1 TB SSD | 500 GB SSD |
| Network | 1 Gbps | 1 Gbps |
| Operating System | Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS) | Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS) |
Testing Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Regularly testing your disaster recovery plan is crucial to ensure its effectiveness. Conduct simulated failures to verify that backups are restorable, replication is working correctly, and failover procedures are successful. Document all test results and update the plan as needed. Refer to the MediaWiki Administration documentation for further assistance. Also review Security Best Practices for preventative measures.
Related Pages
Intel-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Core i7-6700K/7700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB | CPU Benchmark: 8046 |
| Core i7-8700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 13124 |
| Core i9-9900K Server | 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 49969 |
| Core i9-13900 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i9-13900 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Workstation | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000 |
AMD-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 Server | 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 17849 |
| Ryzen 7 7700 Server | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 35224 |
| Ryzen 9 5950X Server | 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 46045 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X Server | 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 63561 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB) | 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB) | 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB) | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 9454P Server | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe |
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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️