About a month ago I’ve been trying to make a decision as to whether the web site host, 1and1 sucks. There is a blog that I manage, which I have hosted at 1and1. About a week ago, I noticed that some posts had mysteriously vanished.

Step 1: Request Back Up

The database was screwed, royally screwed. So, I figured that they’ve got to have some sort of backup right? Um, sort of. Now before I go on, let me state that this is totally my fault. I didn’t follow the advice in my post, which is do your own backups, so what the hell was I expecting? So, moving on: I called up tech support and asked whether they could help me. Yippie, they do do backups. Yay. Just one small problem, the only backup I could get was of two days before. No big deal. Since the whole database was somewhat screwed, restoring posts from the past two days would be no problem. So I said sure, and waited.

Step 2: Wait for Back Up

I called them at about 2:00PM while I was at work. I was told that they would get with the techs and they would place the on my site, where I could access it by FTP, and they would email me when this is done. Cool, I thought. I got home at 5:30PM and dived into my email, nothing. I hunted one the FTP server, nothing. What was going on? So, I called tech support again. Now, I’m being told that Database Backups can only be delivered between 24 to 48 hours from the time of request. O…..K? Maybe they have all the backups archived in some sort of solid archive and to restore my database they need to extract all of them? I don’t know, whatever. I figured I had no choice, so I waited. This was Thursday, and just to recap the best they could do was give me a backup done on Monday or Tuesday. No problem.

Step 3: Wait for Back Up, Some More

25 hours after I called back, and still nothing. No email, no backup, no nothing. *Sigh*, oh well. I should have done my own backup, it’s my own fault. I also confirmed the dates of my database backups and all that good stuff.

Step 3: Wait for Back Up, Just a Little Bit Longer

Now, we’re at the 49 hour mark and I’m getting a lil’ bit testy. No emails, no backups, no nothing. Called up tech support again and started complaining. I got a ton of apologies and stuff and they ensured me that everything was being done to help me, sure. I figured, that I’m really cutting a bit close, and it happened to be Friday evening, and that particular Friday there was a performance by some local artists, who I haven’t seen in over three years, so screw the blog for today.

Step 4: Wait for Back Up, Can’t Be Much Longer, Can It?

So now, it’s Saturday and I’m slightly hung over, and it’s around the 65 hour mark. I checked my email, no backup. Oh well, there’s another party tonight and I could not be bothered much. Lava is now breathing down my neck, but hey, it’s out of my hands. Called up tech support (I don’t know why I bother) and was told to just keep waiting and that they have no idea what’s going on.

Step 5: Finally Get Back Up, But Hold On

Now it’s Sunday afternoon, and I’m getting a bit annoyed now. I’m a bit over the 90 hour mark now. I check my email and there is nothing. Not a damn thing. I was on my FTP server doing something else when I found a new folder, which I did not recognize, dbrestore. In that folder was a database file. Hooray!!! Everything was going to be fine. I’d finally be back up and running. Nope, not that easy.

The database file was huge, 30 MB. They least they could have done is zip it up for me, but hey, I should really stop complaining. I did a backup of the current database and then started the restore process. I was anxiously waiting.

But, wait a minute. There were no new posts and the categories and everything still seemed screwed up, what was going on? Just to be sure, I restored a backup of the bad database that I did just before their restore. I edited the file and changed the name of the tables so that it would restore to somewhere new. My objective was to have two sets of tables that I could compare.

After that process, I wanted to find someone to strangle. The database back up that I’d been waiting for for 90+ hours was of the bad data after my database meltdown. WTF!!!!?!?!!? Now I was told that my back up would come from Tuesday. I even called to confirm that, but they actually gave me one from Wednesday or later. WTF?!?!?

No biggie, I figure by the time the techs got the request they (didn’t read all the damn notes that were made on the ticket and) just restored the latest database. Because, in their defense, it doesn’t usually take that long. Fine, it shouldn’t be a big deal to call them up and have them do another one of a previous day, right?

How wrong I was! When I called back tech support, I was put on hold while the person was actually on the line with the techs. We can’t speak to them directly, oh well. But here’s the kicker, when she got back on the line she gave me the sad news. These brilliant people only keep ONE (1) database backup. So, the backup that I wanted now no longer existed. Again I say, WTF?

Conclusion

Do your own damn backups and save yourself the headache. So, does 1and1 suck? Could be, but again I say, for $2.99 a month do not expect the world on a silver plater.

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