Multisite

Important : BackupBuddy Multisite functionality is EXPERIMENTAL and NOT officially supported. Multiple issues are known. Usage of it is at your own risk and should not be relied upon. Standalone WordPress sites are suggested. You may use the "Export" feature to export your subsites into standalone WordPress sites. Not all Standalone features are available for Multisite installations. Please carefully review the features, differences and limitations so that you are aware of them and are sure it will meet your needs.

You must add the following line to your wp-config.php to activate these experimental features.

If needed, you can see how to edit the wp-config.php file in this article. 

:

define( 'PB_BACKUPBUDDY_MULTISITE_EXPERIMENT' , true );

It can be anywhere in the wp-config.php file as long as it is between the first line ( <php ) and before the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! Happy Blogging. */

Contents

Backup entire Multisite Network

  • Limitations:
    • As a Network can contain many subsites, each subsite increases the amount of time needed to perform a backup, especially if the sites are large. This can demand more server resources or more PHP runtime. Most shared hosting does not permit increasing these resources so BackupBuddy may not be able to finish backups under these conditions. If you have access to modify these settings, Maximum PHP runtime is a key setting to increase as needed.
    • WordPress 3.5 Multisite has introduced multiple problems with site imports related with both file uploads and user imports. Some workarounds: http://ithemes.com/forum/topic/37186-backupbuddy-ms-import-not-working-on-wp-35-multisite/

Restore entire Multisite Network (same server & URLs)

  • Limitation: As a Network can contain many subsites, each subsite increases the amount of time needed to perform a restore, especially if the sites are large. This can demand more server resources or more PHP runtime. Most shared hosting does not permit increasing these resources so BackupBuddy may not be able to finish restores under these conditions. If you have access to modify these settings, Maximum PHP runtime is a key setting to increase as needed.

Migrate entire Multisite Network (different server or URLs) -- Use Caution

  • Limitation: When migrating a Network to a new server or changing URLs, domains, or moving a Network in or out of a subdirectory, BackupBuddy will only migrate the database tables associated with the MAIN site. Due to technical reasons BackupBuddy currently will not automatically migrate URLs or paths of any other subsites within the migrated network. If the URLs or paths of subsites need to be updated you may perform this procedure by using the 'Mass Database Text Replacement' tool on the 'Server Information' page within BackupBuddy for each subsite you need to update.
  • Limitation: You cannot change from sub-domains to sub-directory URL structure using BackupBuddy Multisite nor can you change from sub-directories to sub-domain URL structure.
  • Limitation: As a Network can contain many subsites, each subsite increases the amount of time needed to perform a migration, especially if the sites are large. This can demand more server resources or more PHP runtime. Most shared hosting does not permit increasing these resources so BackupBuddy may not be able to finish migrations under these conditions. If you have access to modify these settings, Maximum PHP runtime is a key setting to increase as needed.

Export a subsite from the Network

  • Exported subsites may be imported back into the same network (AKA Duplicated), imported into another Network, or restored as a standalone WordPress site using the importbuddy.php tool.
    • Limitation: The main Network [sub]site cannot be exported as it is tied to the Network. It is still included in the main Network backup however.
  • Import an exported subsite into the Network
    • No known limitations beyond those of normal BackupBuddy.
  • Import a backed up standalone site into the Network
    • No known limitations beyond those of normal BackupBuddy.
  • Restore or Migrate an exported subsite as a standalone site
    • No known limitations beyond those of normal BackupBuddy.

WordPress Multisite Domain Mapping and BackupBuddy Multisite

Domain mapping was confirmed by customers to work in pre-v3.0 BackupBuddy versions. It has not been officially tested with > 3.0 versions. Customer reports of success/failure are welcomed. Note: Some functionality has changed and improved since this video was made. It is not the latest version.

Running Backup, Migrating OR Restoring with BackupBuddy Multisite EXPERIMENTAL

Here is an actual video, from one of our many webinars (we have many regular webinars planned), with details on how to migrate or restore with BackupBuddy. Note: Some functionality has changed and improved since this video was made. It is not the latest version.

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