Plan complete recovery

Build the recovery inventory

1. Include the whole Obelisk database

   Back up data, views, routines, events and triggers, plus the database definition with its character set and collation. Record SQL accounts and grants separately. A dump of tables alone cannot recreate the full database environment or its permissions.

2. Keep installation files and private state

   Include the installed application, kernel_settings.php, the license, the actual two-factor encryption key and audio files. Preserve the installer’s reported state under /var/lib/obelisk-installer/, the original kit, /etc/cron.d/obelisk and any private updater profile under /etc/obelisk with its restrictive permissions.

3. Coordinate the telephone sources

   Maintain the normal FreePBX backup and protection of the source CDR and queue log data. Obelisk’s application backup does not replace them. Record where recordings actually reside, because an SQL dump cannot recover audio stored on disk or another volume.

Test restoration in isolation

Test the backup where SQL events and scheduled jobs cannot start against production services before verification. A second database on the same active SQL server is not sufficient isolation. Preserve the original database character set and collation; when the dump does not contain CREATE DATABASE, have the DBA recreate that definition deliberately. Use the SQL client’s --comments option for restoration so routine metadata comments are retained. Review the restored objects, accounts and file permissions before enabling application traffic or jobs.

Protect the key and verify MySQL metadata access

The two-factor encryption key is external to SQL. Its default location is data/obelisk_2fa.key.php, but the configured path is authoritative. Without the correct key, stored authenticator secrets cannot be decrypted. On MySQL, also preserve the definer and permissions needed by the obelisk_routine_grants view. If restoring under a different database name, the DBA must review that view’s target. A successful recovery means the application can authenticate, read its data and pass the relevant checks, not merely that an import command completed.

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