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Native CRON script for failed backup checks

[Tip]Tip

This option is only available in the Akeeba Backup Professional releases. You need to subscribe to the Professional edition to use it.

[Tip]Tip

Our users report that they get no joy using this script on GoDaddy hosting, but our alternative script (detailed on the next chapter) works.

[Warning]Warning

This is an optional, advanced and DANGEROUS feature. If you check for failed backups while a backup is still running it is very possible that you will cause the backup to fail! We recommend scheduling backup checks a substantial amount of time (e.g. 1 hour) after the expected end time of your backups.

If you have access to the command-line version of PHP, Akeeba Backup Professional includes an even better way of scheduling your failed backup checks. All Akeeba Backup Professional releases include the file cli/akeeba-check-failed.php, which can be run from the command-line PHP interface (PHP CLI). In contrast with previous releases, it doesn't require the front-end backup in order to work; it is self-contained, native backup for your site, even if your web server is down!

In order to schedule a backup, you will have to use the following command line to your host's CRON interface:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/USER/webroot/solofolder/app/cli/check-failed.php

where /usr/local/bin/php is the path to your PHP CLI executable, /home/USER/webroot is the absolute path to your web site's root and solofolder is the directory where Akeeba Solo is installed. You can get this information from your host.

In order to give an example, we will assume that your PHP CLI binary is located in /usr/local/bin/php (a common setting among hosts), your web site's root is located at /home/johndoe/httpdocs and your Akeeba Solo directory is solo:

usr/local/bin/php /home/johndoe/httpdocs/solo/app/cli/check-failed.php

If you are using Akeeba Backup for Wordpress:

/usr/bin/php5-cli /home/johndoe/public_html/wp-content/plugins/akeebabackupwp/app/cli/check-failed.php

Special considerations:

  • This script is not meant to run from a web interface. If your host only provides access to the CGI or FastCGI PHP binaries, check-failed.php will not work with them. The solution to this issue is tied to the time constraint above. The workaround we're planning will solve both issues.

Setting up a CRON job on cPanel

Go to your cPanel main page and choose the CRON Jobs icon from the Advanced pane. In the Add New CRON Job box on the page which loads, enter the following information:

Common Settings

Choose the frequency of your backup, for example once per day.

Command

Enter your backup command. Usually, you have to use something like:

If you are using Akeeba Solo:

/usr/bin/php5-cli /home/myusername/public_html/solofolder/app/cli/check-failed.php

If you are using Akeeba Backup for Wordpress:

/usr/bin/php5-cli /home/myusername/public_html/wp-content/plugins/akeebabackupwp/app/cli/check-failed.php

where myusername is your account's user name (most probably the same you use to login to cPanel) and solofolder is the folder where you installed Akeeba Solo. Do note the path for the PHP command line executable: /usr/bin/php5-cli. This is the default location of the correct executable file for cPanel 11 and later. Your host may use a different path to the executable. If the command never runs, ask them. We can't help you with that; only those who have set up the server know the changes they have made to the default setup.

Finally, click the Add New Cron Job button to activate the CRON job.

Special considerations for HostGator

The location of the PHP CLI binary is /usr/bin/php-cli. This means that your CRON command line should look like:

/opt/php53/bin/php /home/myusername/public_html/solofolder/app/cli/check-failed.php

If you are using Akeeba Backup for Wordpress:

/opt/php53/bin/php /home/myusername/public_html/wp-content/plugins/akeebabackupwp/app/cli/check-failed.php