Testing and Validating Your Backups

Why Test?

A backup that cannot be restored is worthless. Regular testing ensures your backup process actually works when you need it.

Database Restore Test

#!/bin/bash
# Create temporary database
mysql -u root -e "CREATE DATABASE backup_test"

# Restore latest backup
gunzip < /backup/mysql/mydb_latest.sql.gz | mysql -u root backup_test

# Verify data
ROWS=$(mysql -u root -N -e "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM backup_test.users")
echo "Users table has $ROWS rows"

# Compare with production
PROD_ROWS=$(mysql -u root -N -e "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mydb.users")
echo "Production has $PROD_ROWS rows"

# Cleanup
mysql -u root -e "DROP DATABASE backup_test"

File Restore Test

#!/bin/bash
RESTORE_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
tar -xzf /backup/www_latest.tar.gz -C "$RESTORE_DIR"

# Check key files exist
for file in index.php wp-config.php .htaccess; do
    if [ -f "$RESTORE_DIR/var/www/html/$file" ]; then
        echo "OK: $file exists"
    else
        echo "FAIL: $file missing!"
    fi
done

rm -rf "$RESTORE_DIR"

Automated Monthly Test

# Run on the 1st of each month
0 5 1 * * /root/scripts/test-backup.sh | mail -s "Backup Test Report" admin@example.com

Checklist

• Can you restore the database? (SQL import succeeds)
• Does the data look correct? (row counts, recent records)
• Are all application files present?
• Are config files included?
• How long does a full restore take? (measure your RTO)