Fix 1and 1 VPS Error after Internal Maintanance Migration
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
1and1 did it to me again. A maintanance migration on their end lead to my websites (About 5 Wordpress and 2 php script sites) going down. I get some database errors and then on a few, I get dns errors. I feel like it might me the cache and cdn's just catching up with it.
Key Issues:
Seeing these errors on diff sites
Error Message: "Error establishing a database connection"
Error Message: "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"
Plesk Access Issues:
Inability to log in to the Plesk control panel
Observations:
Timing of Errors:
The server was operational until 12:08 PM- (that was my last email received) server migration completed at 7:39 AM. - so thats a few hours after migration the server was working fine.
Current Server State:
The server is accessible only in rescue mode
Actions Taken:
Just talked to tech support and they did some troubleshooting. They said an issue with the OS and they want to restore it, but it will take 24 hours. I'm hoping for a quicker fix.
While they will try to fix this, I want to try to see if theres a possibility to fix it without the need of restoring anything.
I also have these instrctios on how to export Using Grml for Data Recovery:
This article explains how you can use the Grml DVD to back up your VPS data. The Grml
DVD contains a number of useful programs that you can use for data recovery.
Note
If you no longer have the root password and need to reset it, you will find instructions on how
to do this in the following article:
Reset root password (VPS)
Downloading the DVD Grml latest_iso
1. Log in to your IONOS account.
2. Click Menu > Server & Cloud in the title bar. Optional: Select the desired Server
& Cloud contract.
3. Activate the relevant server.
4. Click DVD drive.
5. Select the DVD grml latest_iso.
6. Click Load DVD.
Booting Grml from DVD
1. Click Actions > Restart.
2. Click Yes.
3. Click Actions > Open remote console.
The remote console opens. Wait until the boot process is complete.
4. Press Enter.
Setting the password for the root user and starting
the SSH service
1. To set a password for the root user in Grml, enter the command below. The
password will be required later for external access.
root@grml ~ # passwd
2. Enter the new password and repeat it.
3. To start the SSH service and enable external access, enter the following
command:
root@grml ~ # /etc/init.d/ssh start
Display information on existing data carriers and
determine root partition
1. To display information on all disks, enter the following command:
root@grml ~ # fdisk -l
2. Determine the root partition. The name of the root partition for a VPS with Ubuntu
22.04 is /dev/vda1, for example.
Using Fsck for file system errors
If you have been shown file system errors, you should check the file system for consistency
with a file system check.
Caution
A file system check must not be performed with mounted and/or encrypted partitions, as this
can result in data loss.
Therefore, make sure that the partition is not mounted or encrypted before you check it with
the File System Check.
To check a partition with the File System Check, replace the placeholders in the command
below and then enter it:
root@grml ~ # sudo fsck -f /PATH/PARTITION
Example:
root@grml ~ # sudo fsck -f /dev/vda1
Further information on fsck can be found on the following page:
https://linux.die.net/man/8/fsck
Mounting Partitions
If your server boots normally, your partitions will be mounted automatically at startup so that
you have access to the files. If you boot a server with the Grml DVD, the partitions are not
mounted automatically. To gain access to your data and back it up via SSH or FTP, you must
mount the partitions manually.
Before you mount the partitions, we recommend that you create a temporary backup.
To mount the root partition, adapt the command below and then enter it:
root@grml ~ # sudo mount /dev/MY_ROOT_PARTITION /mnt
Replace the placeholder MY_ROOT_PARTITION with the name of the root partition of your
VPS. Example:
root@grml ~ # sudo mount /dev/vda1 /mnt
Accessing Data
Once the file system is mounted, you can use the following access data to access the file system
using an SSH or SFTP connection:
Host: Server IP
User: root
Password: (password you have set)
Port: 22
Path of the file system: /mnt
Backing up Data from the Server to a Local
Computer Using Filezilla
To back up your server data to a local computer, you can use the FileZilla program. FileZilla is
available for computers with Windows, MacOS and Linux operating systems.
You can download the latest installation file for your operating system at the following URL:
https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
To establish a connection to your server with FileZilla and download the files on it to a local
computer, proceed as follows:
Prerequisites
● You have booted the server using the Grml DVD.
● You have activated SSH access.
● You have installed FileZilla.
1. Start FileZilla.
2. Enter the IP address of the server in the Host field.
3. Enter the username root in the Username field.
4. Enter the password you have set in the Password field.
5. Enter port 22 in the Port field.
6. Click on Connect.
The connection to the server is established.The area on the left displays the
directories that are on your client. The area on the right displays the directories that
are on your server.
7. Create a directory on your local computer.
8. Select the relevant files and directories on your server and copy them to the desired
directory on your local computer using drag & drop.
Copy Data to Another Computer or Server Using
Secure Copy
As an alternative to backing up data with Filezilla, you can use Secure Copy to copy data to
another computer or server. Secure Copy is a protocol for the encrypted transfer of data that
is based on Secure Shell. To transfer the data, adapt the command below and then enter it:
root@grml ~ # sudo scp -r /PATH USERNAME@IP-ADRESS:/PATH
In the following example, the files that are mounted in the /mnt directory are sent to the server
with the IP address 82.165.69.130 and saved in the /opt/backup directory:
root@grml ~ # sudo scp -r /mnt root@82.165.69.130:/opt/backup
Unmounting the File Systems
Before you boot the server back into normal mode, you must unmount the mounted partitions. To
do this, use the umount command.
Caution
If you restart the server with mounted file systems, data loss may occur under certain
circumstances!
To mount the root partition, enter the following command:
root@grml ~ # sudo umount /dev/MY_ROOT_PARTITION /mnt
Replace the placeholder MY_ROOT_PARTITION with the name of the root partition of your VPS.
Example:
root@grml ~ # sudo umount /dev/vda1 /mnt
Key Issues:
Seeing these errors on diff sites
Error Message: "Error establishing a database connection"
Error Message: "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"
Plesk Access Issues:
Inability to log in to the Plesk control panel
Observations:
Timing of Errors:
The server was operational until 12:08 PM- (that was my last email received) server migration completed at 7:39 AM. - so thats a few hours after migration the server was working fine.
Current Server State:
The server is accessible only in rescue mode
Actions Taken:
Just talked to tech support and they did some troubleshooting. They said an issue with the OS and they want to restore it, but it will take 24 hours. I'm hoping for a quicker fix.
While they will try to fix this, I want to try to see if theres a possibility to fix it without the need of restoring anything.
I also have these instrctios on how to export Using Grml for Data Recovery:
This article explains how you can use the Grml DVD to back up your VPS data. The Grml
DVD contains a number of useful programs that you can use for data recovery.
Note
If you no longer have the root password and need to reset it, you will find instructions on how
to do this in the following article:
Reset root password (VPS)
Downloading the DVD Grml latest_iso
1. Log in to your IONOS account.
2. Click Menu > Server & Cloud in the title bar. Optional: Select the desired Server
& Cloud contract.
3. Activate the relevant server.
4. Click DVD drive.
5. Select the DVD grml latest_iso.
6. Click Load DVD.
Booting Grml from DVD
1. Click Actions > Restart.
2. Click Yes.
3. Click Actions > Open remote console.
The remote console opens. Wait until the boot process is complete.
4. Press Enter.
Setting the password for the root user and starting
the SSH service
1. To set a password for the root user in Grml, enter the command below. The
password will be required later for external access.
root@grml ~ # passwd
2. Enter the new password and repeat it.
3. To start the SSH service and enable external access, enter the following
command:
root@grml ~ # /etc/init.d/ssh start
Display information on existing data carriers and
determine root partition
1. To display information on all disks, enter the following command:
root@grml ~ # fdisk -l
2. Determine the root partition. The name of the root partition for a VPS with Ubuntu
22.04 is /dev/vda1, for example.
Using Fsck for file system errors
If you have been shown file system errors, you should check the file system for consistency
with a file system check.
Caution
A file system check must not be performed with mounted and/or encrypted partitions, as this
can result in data loss.
Therefore, make sure that the partition is not mounted or encrypted before you check it with
the File System Check.
To check a partition with the File System Check, replace the placeholders in the command
below and then enter it:
root@grml ~ # sudo fsck -f /PATH/PARTITION
Example:
root@grml ~ # sudo fsck -f /dev/vda1
Further information on fsck can be found on the following page:
https://linux.die.net/man/8/fsck
Mounting Partitions
If your server boots normally, your partitions will be mounted automatically at startup so that
you have access to the files. If you boot a server with the Grml DVD, the partitions are not
mounted automatically. To gain access to your data and back it up via SSH or FTP, you must
mount the partitions manually.
Before you mount the partitions, we recommend that you create a temporary backup.
To mount the root partition, adapt the command below and then enter it:
root@grml ~ # sudo mount /dev/MY_ROOT_PARTITION /mnt
Replace the placeholder MY_ROOT_PARTITION with the name of the root partition of your
VPS. Example:
root@grml ~ # sudo mount /dev/vda1 /mnt
Accessing Data
Once the file system is mounted, you can use the following access data to access the file system
using an SSH or SFTP connection:
Host: Server IP
User: root
Password: (password you have set)
Port: 22
Path of the file system: /mnt
Backing up Data from the Server to a Local
Computer Using Filezilla
To back up your server data to a local computer, you can use the FileZilla program. FileZilla is
available for computers with Windows, MacOS and Linux operating systems.
You can download the latest installation file for your operating system at the following URL:
https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
To establish a connection to your server with FileZilla and download the files on it to a local
computer, proceed as follows:
Prerequisites
● You have booted the server using the Grml DVD.
● You have activated SSH access.
● You have installed FileZilla.
1. Start FileZilla.
2. Enter the IP address of the server in the Host field.
3. Enter the username root in the Username field.
4. Enter the password you have set in the Password field.
5. Enter port 22 in the Port field.
6. Click on Connect.
The connection to the server is established.The area on the left displays the
directories that are on your client. The area on the right displays the directories that
are on your server.
7. Create a directory on your local computer.
8. Select the relevant files and directories on your server and copy them to the desired
directory on your local computer using drag & drop.
Copy Data to Another Computer or Server Using
Secure Copy
As an alternative to backing up data with Filezilla, you can use Secure Copy to copy data to
another computer or server. Secure Copy is a protocol for the encrypted transfer of data that
is based on Secure Shell. To transfer the data, adapt the command below and then enter it:
root@grml ~ # sudo scp -r /PATH USERNAME@IP-ADRESS:/PATH
In the following example, the files that are mounted in the /mnt directory are sent to the server
with the IP address 82.165.69.130 and saved in the /opt/backup directory:
root@grml ~ # sudo scp -r /mnt root@82.165.69.130:/opt/backup
Unmounting the File Systems
Before you boot the server back into normal mode, you must unmount the mounted partitions. To
do this, use the umount command.
Caution
If you restart the server with mounted file systems, data loss may occur under certain
circumstances!
To mount the root partition, enter the following command:
root@grml ~ # sudo umount /dev/MY_ROOT_PARTITION /mnt
Replace the placeholder MY_ROOT_PARTITION with the name of the root partition of your VPS.
Example:
root@grml ~ # sudo umount /dev/vda1 /mnt