Direct Storage Access Recovery

DBRECOVER for MySQL supports recovering data from filesystem or storage failures by directly accessing the underlying storage devices. This capability is essential when the filesystem is corrupted but the actual data remains intact on disk.

DBRECOVER for MySQL can directly read:

  • Disk Partitions: Raw partition devices like /dev/sda1
  • Logical Volumes: LVM volumes such as /dev/vg0/mysql_data
  • Physical Volumes: Direct access to physical storage devices
  • RAID Arrays: Software and hardware RAID configurations

When to Use Direct Storage Recovery

Direct storage access is particularly useful in these scenarios:

  • Filesystem corruption prevents mounting the MySQL data directory
  • Disk controller or driver issues cause filesystem errors
  • Accidental filesystem format or partition table damage
  • LVM metadata corruption while data remains intact
  • RAID controller failure with accessible member disks
⚠️ Important: Read-Only Access

DBRECOVER operates in read-only mode when scanning storage devices, ensuring no modifications are made to the original data. However, always create disk images before any recovery attempt when possible.

Recovery Process

Step 1: Identify the Storage Device

First, identify the disk or partition containing your MySQL data:

# List all block devices
lsblk -f

# Check LVM volumes
lvdisplay

# View partition information
fdisk -l /dev/sda

Step 2: Scan the Device with DBRECOVER

Use DBRECOVER to scan the storage device for InnoDB data:

DBRECOVER> open device /dev/sda1

[INFO] Scanning device for InnoDB signatures...
[INFO] Found InnoDB system tablespace at offset 0x12800000
[INFO] Tablespace ID: 0, Page Size: 16384

DBRECOVER> scan tablespace
[INFO] Scanning for table definitions...
[INFO] Found 127 tables
[INFO] Recovery possible for 124 tables

Step 3: Export Recovered Data

Export the recovered data to SQL files:

DBRECOVER> recover all tables
[INFO] Processing tables...

DBRECOVER> export to '/recovery/output/'
[INFO] Exporting 124 tables...
✓ Export complete: 124 tables, 2.3M rows

Video Tutorial

Watch our video guide demonstrating the complete recovery process for filesystem and disk failure scenarios:

📺 Watch: DBRECOVER MySQL Disk Failure Recovery Tutorial

Best Practices

  1. Create Disk Image First: Use dd to create a complete disk image before recovery
  2. Verify Data Integrity: Check recovered data against known good backups if available
  3. Document the Process: Keep logs of all recovery operations performed
  4. Test in Staging: Import recovered data to a test environment before production use

Need Help?

For complex storage failure scenarios or enterprise support, contact us at [email protected]