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Preventative Maintenance

#Preventative Maintenance

This article details preventative maintenance procedures for MediaWiki servers. Regular maintenance is crucial for ensuring optimal performance, data integrity, and minimizing downtime. This guide is aimed at system administrators and those responsible for managing a MediaWiki installation. We will cover database maintenance, file system checks, log rotation, and backup strategies. It is assumed you have root access to the server and a working knowledge of the command line.

Database Maintenance

The database is the heart of your MediaWiki installation. Neglecting database maintenance can lead to performance degradation and even data loss. We'll focus on MySQL/MariaDB, the most common database backend.

Regular Optimization

Regularly optimizing tables reduces fragmentation and improves query performance. This can be automated using a cron job.

Command Description
`mysqlcheck -o ` Optimizes all tables in the specified database. Replace `` with your MediaWiki database name.
`mysqlcheck -o -a ` Optimizes all tables and performs an analysis. This provides more detailed information about table health.
`OPTIMIZE TABLE ` Optimizes a specific table. Useful for tables experiencing high write activity.

Remember to schedule these tasks during off-peak hours to minimize impact on users. See Special:DatabaseReports for database statistics.

Database Backups

Regular backups are essential for disaster recovery. Implement a robust backup strategy that includes both full and incremental backups. Consider using tools like `mysqldump` or `mariadb-dump`.

Backup Type Description Frequency
Full Backup Creates a complete copy of the database. Weekly
Incremental Backup Backs up only the changes made since the last full or incremental backup. Daily
Binary Backup (using `xtrabackup`) Creates a physical copy of the database files. Faster restoration. Weekly

Test your backups regularly to ensure they are restorableConsult the Backups page for detailed instructions.

Database User Privileges

Review database user privileges regularly. Ensure the MediaWiki user has only the necessary permissions. Restricting unnecessary access improves security. See Configuring database access for details.

File System Maintenance

Maintaining the file system ensures that MediaWiki can access its files efficiently.

Disk Space Monitoring

Monitor disk space usage regularly. A full disk can cause serious problems. Use commands like `df -h` to check disk space. Implement alerts to notify you when disk space is running low. See Server Monitoring Tools for options.

File System Checks

Run file system checks (using `fsck`) periodically to detect and repair errors. Schedule this during downtime.

File System Type Check Command Notes
ext4 `fsck -f /dev/` Replace `` with the appropriate device name.
XFS `xfs_repair /dev/` Requires unmounting the file system first.

Log Rotation

Log files can grow rapidly, consuming disk space. Configure log rotation to automatically archive and delete old logs.

Logrotate Configuration

The `logrotate` utility is commonly used for log rotation. Configure it to rotate MediaWiki logs (e.g., error logs, access logs) and archive them. The configuration file is typically located at `/etc/logrotate.d/mediawiki`. Example configuration:

``` /var/log/mediawiki/error.log { rotate 7 daily missingok notifempty compress delaycompress copytruncate } ```

Backup Strategies

A comprehensive backup strategy is crucial. Consider the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of your data, on 2 different media, with 1 offsite.

Backup Types

⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️

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