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EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Please attach a ZIP file containing your Akeeba Backup log file in order for us to help you with any backup or restoration issue. If the file is over 2Mb, please upload it on your server and post a link to it.

Description of my issue:

Hello,

I have a few sites that are quite large, all are over 400 Mb. For some of the sites I have to split the archive into smaller sizes for it to transfer over to Dropbox. I have one site that is over 1 Gb and it transfers and then chunks into one, without having to be split. Why do I need to split some sites while not having to split others?

I should not work. Dropbox has a file size limit of 100 Mb for files transferred with the public API. Dropbox itself does not have this limit, they use a private API which does not impose the 100 Mb limit.

Have you tried downloading and extracting that 1 Gb backup archive?

Yes I have, it works just fine. I also have another site that has a backup size of 131 Mb and is chunk uploading perfectly.

It is a constant game of "whack-a-mole" trying to keep up with the limits and work arounds.

Let me do some more checking and I will let you know what I find.

Yes, the June 2014 API upgrade from Dropbox increases the file size limit to 5 Gb. So you should be able to upload your archives in single parts using the chunk feature. That will upload them in parts behind the scenes and reassemble them on the Dropbox side.

Thank you,

I will set the sites I have split to enable chunk uploading. I want to keep this open until I am sure they all upload successfully.

Hello,

Here is the log file for a failed backup which should have uploaded via chunk uploading.

The log file says this was completely uploaded to Dropbox. The archive file size in the log is:

DEBUG   |140708 15:36:57|Total size of backup archive (in bytes): 691534945

What message did you get that makes you think it failed? What does the Administer Backups screen show?

I thought it failed because I got a timeout error when I performed the manual backup.

The manage backups screen shows it as complete. Why do I get a timeout error if it completes?

Akeeba considers the backup and the upload to Dropbox as separate steps. If the backup completes successfully, it shows as successful in the Administer Backups screen even if the upload to Dropbox failed. If the upload failed, you can see the name of the local file in the backup record and the local file is not deleted . In that last log that you posted, it clearly states that the upload is complete and the local file is deleted. After that happens we get this:

ERROR   |140708 15:47:38|The process was aborted on user's request

Can you please get me a screen shot of the timeout error? I need to figure out where it is coming from.

Here is the timeout error.

"A picture is worth a thousand words." :-)

I need to ask Nicholas about this one.

The chunking of the the upload is keeping PHP from throwing a timeout error. PHP sees each chunk as a separate job with a separate clock.

Apache sees the entire upload job as one process. After 10 minutes, Apache is throwing a 504 Gateway Timeout error. It is still a timeout error, but this one is coming from Apache, not PHP. At the current time, your upload is finishing just as Apache is throwing the error, so the upload finishes just under the wire. The backup and upload are both successful and you can ignore the 504 error.

But... your backup only has to increase just a tiny bit before that 504 error stops the upload of the final chunk. You will have to check the log file for future backups to make sure the upload was complete.

You are pushing the envelope just a little too far. A situation where you know it works today but it may not work tomorrow is unacceptable for something as important as a backup. You need to split that archive into parts. Apache will see each part as a separate job and you will be safely under the time limit.

How small would you recommend the parts be?

About 400 Mb per part should do nicely. That will cut your upload time roughly in half and should keep you away from the timeout. Your two parts will be 400 Mb and 291 Mb so that second part has a bit to grow before the backup goes to a third part.

Sorry about the delay,

Is Apache server timeout from Dropbox or our server?

I'm petty sure the 504 error is coming from your server. It would be a different error if it was coming from Dropbox.