Restoring the database if I have the files from the VM

mega

So my ESXi VM crapped itself before I could get it backed up. I've tried working the vSphere angle of spinning up a new VM with the VMDK, but the VM always comes out as invalid. Resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to spin up a new machine, is there any way for me to recover the database with what I believe is an entirely intact filesystem?

I'm somewhat technical, but moreso into Windows administration than Linux, So my Linux expertise is not very high.

mega

Heck, even if the only thing I can recover is the passwords, that is entirely fine.

wrongecho

Hey

I believe that MySQL/MariaDB* stores the database file on disk at var/lib/mysql

If you can copy the ITFlow www directory (be sure to include the .git hidden folder) and the database to a new system, presumably it's just like a migration. Then all you have to do is configure Apache & SSL.

I say presumably because I've never actually done this from the raw database files on Linux, but it's the same theory as mssql.

It's also worth noting your app version (the files) and database version should ideally match - i.e don't migrate the database but pull a fresh install, as the database schema may have changed.

In terms of passwords, these are stored encrypted in the database using the master encryption key. To access these you'd need to either restore/migrate the ITFlow instance and login as normal or have access to the 'logins' table and the master encryption key to manually decrypt entries.

I assume you've already read this but I'll link it anyway: https://docs.itflow.org/backups

mega

So I feel like I must be doing something wrong.

I'm setting up the new IT Flow machine.

I then delete the new mysql folder, and paste in the old one.

I then update the encryption key in the config.php

I reboot the machine and the login page becomes inaccessible.

mega

additionally I've tried pasting the old mysql folder over the new one and just overwriting, AND I tried replaing the db.sql file in the itflow root. Same result.

It seems that everything breaks once I update the database password in the config

mega

I also tried copying the mysql and the var/itflow domain folder over the old one, same problem,

mega

I have also made sure that the mysql user has ownership of the mysql folder and the www-data user has ownership of the var/itflow domain folder. Still no luck

johnny

@mega attempt to access your ITflow, then copy and paste your php logs here from the timestamp you attempted to access your itflow, Im hoping that will give us some insight

mega

I found this:

[Tue Nov 07 17:39:47.948896 2023] [php:error] [pid 1638] [client 192.168.27.68:6 1364] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught mysqli_sql_exception: Access denied for user 'i tflow'@'localhost' (using password: YES) in /var/www/itflow.iacobaccio.ca/config .php:7\nStack trace:\n#0 /var/www/itflow.iacobaccio.ca/config.php(7): mysqli_con nect()\n#1 /var/www/itflow.iacobaccio.ca/login.php(10): require_once('...')\n#2 {main}\n thrown in /var/www/itflow.iacobaccio.ca/config.php on line 7

root@JOE-ITFLOW2:/#

I don't understand, as I've adjusted the config to use the original database password

johnny

mega 'i tflow'@'localhost'

looks like your user name has a space in it, that could be the cause, go back in your config.php and remove the space between i and t

johnny

I removed your previous post, Please dont post passwords here.

It looks like the issue is deff with your DB Connection according to the logs there.

Do you have phpmyadmin installed?

mega

I don't have it installed. I can, I've just never used it before

mega

okay so I got phpmyadmin set up, created a user account with full permissions, and the database tables all seem to be empty. Additionally, I went and updated the credentials in the config to the newuser account I made, and Itflow then loads in a browser. But once again, everything seems empty

johnny

Sound like your DB is corrupt, if it is empty. the proper way to backup the the DB is to do a dump. I can take a peak at your DB see if its restorable, upload here

https://nc.itflow.org/s/AzaMarGfFfxTooy

mega

I've uploaded both the folders in www and mysql. Please let me know if you have any luck!

johnny

The DB is deff corrupt did you by chance do a MySQL Dump at any point, This could of been done via the ITFlow app itself when it was working Administration > Backup

Otherwise take this as a lesson to always make backups. This is so important and to always use the 3-2-1 Backup rule

mega

Unfortunately no. No worries. Very little was put in there that wasn't already somewhere else. I really appreciate you checking for me!

johnny

Your very welcome. ITFlow makes it pretty simple to import CSV files that can be exported from most password managers including web browser password managers. So you can use this method to quicken the process