Database backups are important. The Internet is fragile and servers can go down without any warnings. Even a single wrong command can mess up the whole server and wipe out all the data stored on the server in a non-recoverable way. So, We should always keep off-site backups of our databases. There are many different ways to back up a database. You can directly create a backup of the MySQL database using mysqldump command.
However, if you are using osCommerce, you can create a backup of your database directly from the admin panel. You can also restore a database backup in your osCommerce site. Both, creating a backup and restoring it is easy. In this tutorial, I am going to demonstrate the same. So, Let’s get started with backup!
Backup a database in osCommerce
To create a backup of your database, log in to the admin panel of your site. Then, click on the Tools -> Database backup option given in the left sidebar just like the following image.
On this page, you will see a backup directory and a list of available backups. To create a new backup, click on the Backup button given on the Database Backup Manager section. Refer to the following screenshot to find the backup button.
Now, select a type of backup you want. You can also decide if you want to store a backup on the server or not. If you just want to download a backup, check the Download only checkbox. Finally, click on the Backup button to start the backup process.
It might take a few minutes depending on the size of your database. If you have too much data on your site, it might take a while.
So, this is how you can back up a database in osCommerce. Now, let’s see how to restore a database.
Restore a database in osCommerce
Navigate to the Database Backup Manager by clicking on the Tools -> Database Backup option from the left sidebar. Then, click on the Restore button just as highlighted in the following image.
Now, Select an SQL file from your computer and click on the Restore button to start the restoration process. Just like the backup, the time to restore the database depends on the size of your SQL file.
