By A Web Design

XCloner Configuration

After installing the XCloner plugin which is explained in the tutorial XCloner Installation, you have to configure the plugin for it to work successfully.

IMPORTANT : Create a subfolder backups (where all the backups made by XCloner will be saved) inside the the WordPress administrator folder. The path be /{your wordpress folder}/administrator/backups.

The path [/administrator/backups] needs to exist and be writeable in order for XCloner to work properly.

Configuration:

To access and configure XCloner plugin in your WordPress driven Blog, login to WordPress as administrator, by simply entering the url_of_your_website/wp-admin in your Browser. Enter the appropriate username and password {which was provided while installing Wordpress} and then click on Log In as shown in Diagram 1.

Diagram 1

After logging in as WordPress Admin, a Dashboard page opens as shown in Diagram 2.

The Dashboard provides access to different WordPress functions and features.

Diagram 2

In the left menu, locate the link Plugins. Click on Plugins, from the drop down menu that appears click on XCloner as shown in Diagram 3.

Diagram 3

The XCloner Manager page opens as shown in Diagram 4.

Diagram 4

Enter the username and password in Authentification Area and click Login to log in to the XCloner backend as shown in Diagram 5.

NOTE: If you are on this screen for the first time then enter the Username as admin and Password as admin.
After login it is recommended that the password is changed immediately for security purpose.

NOTE: If you forgot your password, to reset it you need to add this code:
$_CONFIG["jcpass"] = md5("my_new_pass"); at the end of the config file cloner.config.php just before line ?> Replace my_new_pass with the actual password.

Diagram 5

You can now access the XCloner administration section as shown in Diagram 6.

From this window you can:

Set various configuration settings
View Backups
Generate a backup
Get Help and Support

NOTE: Backup Start Path Check, Backup Store Path Check, Temporary Path Check and Backup Ready should all be in green. If any one of them is in red, please check the location for the backup again.

Diagram 6

To configure the XCloner settings, click either the Settings or the Configuration from the menu on the left as shown in Diagram 7.

Diagram 7

The XCloner Configuration consists of six tabs:
General tab - General controls the main backup settings such as paths and backup type.

MySQL tab - MySQL holds your MySQL connection settings

Authetification tab - Authetification holds your XCloner username and password

System tab - System controls the system language and FTP settings

Cron tab - Cron controls the configuration of all cron process settings

Info tab - Info displays information about your PHP configuration and general paths

Diagram 8

General Configuration Settings:

Backup Path Settings
Back Start Path : The backup start path determines where XCloner will start the backup process. Note that you are not limited to the default Joomla or Wordpress path, but that you can backup any part of the website.

Backup Store Path : The backup store path determines where your backup will be stored after is has been created. You can store your backups anywhere on your server as long as the area where you want to store it is accessible and writeable by a PHP user.

Backup Generator Options
Manual backup : Many servers have a time limit for the execution of scripts. The default is 30 seconds. If your backup is very big or takes long to execute, set this option to manual to prevent the script being terminated before it is finished as this will generate errors. Note that you need to have JavaScript activated in your browser for this option to work. Default is Yes (=manual).

Compress backup files : This option allows you to compress the backup files if you want to save space. By default it is set to No.

Enable Database backup : This option allows you to include your MySQL data in the backup, or to exclude it. Default is Yes (=include). Your MySQL data can only be included in the backup if the configuration settings for your MySQL database are correct under MySQL tab.

Include backup directory : When XCloner makes a backup you can decide to include the backup directory in the backup process, or to exclude it. If you include previous backups in your new backup, the size of your backups will increase dramatically. Default is No (=exclude).
NOTE: that this option only works if the backup path is within the Joomla or Wordpress main path.

Server Use Options
Backup Using Server Functions : These functions take advantage of built-in backup capabilities of your Web server and will only work if your Web server supports them.

Tar Path or Command : If you tick the active box, a Tar path or command is required. XCloner will allow you to save the settings without a tar path or command and the active box checked, but you will see an error message the moment you try to generate a backup.

MySQL dump path : If you tick the active box, an SQL dump path or command is required or command although XCloner will let you save the settings without an SQL dump path or command and the active box checked.

License Management
License Code : It is Optional. You can paste your license code in this field.

After you have made all your changes, click the big Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to keep the new settings, or click Cancel to keep the old settings as shown in Diagram 9.

Diagram 9

MySQL Configuration Settings

Next, click on the MySQL tab to configure MySQL settings as shown in Diagram 10.

This tab holds your MySQL settings. Any changes you make to your database username or password should be entered here.

XCloner uses these settings to connect to the database and make a backup. These settings are not important if you do not include your MySQL database in your backups.

After you have made all your changes, click the big Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to keep the new settings, or click Cancel to keep the old settings.

Diagram 10

Authentification Configuration Settings

Next, click on the Authentification tab to change your XCloner username and/or password as shown in Diagram 11.

The default password is admin. Leave the password field blank to keep the default password, or change it by typing the new password in the password field.

NOTE : But it is recommended to change the password as soon as you login to XCloner backend.

After you have made all your changes, click the big Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to keep the new settings, or click Cancel to keep the old settings.

Diagram 11

System Configuration Settings

Next, click on the System tab to change the standard system settings as shown in Diagram 12.

Display Settings
System Language : You can choose any language between English or German. By default it is set to English.

System Settings
FTP Transfer Mode : You can choose any type of mode between Direct and Passive transfer modes. By default it is set to Direct.

FTP Connection Mode : You can choose any type of mode between Normal and Secure connection modes. By default it is set to Normal.

Backup Manual Process
Files to process per manual session : You can define the number of files to process per manual session.

Time between sessions refresh : This controls the pause time between session refreshes. This only works if Manual Backup is set to Yes on the General tab.

Backup Refresh Mode : You can set it to Normal or AJAX. By default it is set to AJAX.

Enable log : You can set it to No or Yes to enable logs. By default it is set to No.

After you have made all your changes, click the big Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to keep the new settings, or click Cancel to keep the old settings.

Diagram 12

Cron Configuration Settings

Next click on the Cron tab to configure the settings for cron jobs as shown in Diagram 13. Cron enables you to schedule backups to run automatically at a certain time or date. The actual scheduling of the cron job is done in a crontab file.

Multiple CronJobs Configuration
Configuration Name :Enter a desired name for your cron jobs configuration file. The file will be saved to the configs folder.

Available Configurations : After you have saved your first configuration file, all available configurations will be shown here.

Cron Settings
Email cron log to : You can choose to have the cron log that is generated after every cron job sent to an email address (or multiple addresses) you specify here.

Backup Store Mode : You can have your backup stored on your local server, transferred to a remote FTP account, or have it sent to you by email.

For backup to the local server, the default backup path as defined on the General tab will be used. Sending backups to email addresses may encounter problems if your backups are big and your provider has set a limit for the size of email attachments. You will need to enter the email address in email mode details for this option a little further down on this page.

Backup Type : Choose if you want to do a full backup (all your files + your database), back up your files only, or back up your database only.

Backup Name : You can give your backup a name, or let the system generate a unique name for every backup automatically. System generated names use the following format: backup_(date)_(time)_(domain)-(sql_mode).tar

Cron Allowed IPs : Enter any additional IPs you want to have access to the cron job. Enter one IP per line.

FTP store mode details
If you want to store your backup on a remote server, you will need to enter the FTP connection details for that server here.

Ftp server : Enter the name of your FTP server

Ftp username : Enter your FTP username

Ftp password : Enter your our FTP password

Ftp path : The path where the backup should be stored

Delete backup after transfer : Tick this box if you want the cron generated backup to be deleted from the local server after it has been transferred to the remote server.

Email mode details
Email account : If you have indicated Email in the Backup Store Mode section of this page, then use this field to enter the email address you would like to have the backup sent to.

MySQL Options
Add MySQL Drop : Tick this checkbox if you want XCloner to add the DROP TABLE IF EXISTS statement to your generated SQL. This option is only for advanced users.

Delete Older Backups
Active : Tick this box to delete older backups when a new backup is made.

Delete backups older than : You can enter the number of days to determine which older backups (e.g. older than 30 days) you want to delete when a new backup is made.

Excluded Directories
Excluded directories list one per line (please use full path of the server directory) : Use this field to list directories you want to exclude from the backup. List only one directory per line and use the full path of the server directory.

After you have made all your changes, click the big Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to keep the new settings, or click Cancel to keep the old settings.

Diagram 13