# Fix Discourse installation on Digital Ocean that broke during Docker update

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/fix-discourse-installation-on-digital-ocean-that-broke-during-docker-update/315474
**Category:** Marketplace
**Tags:** delivered
**Created:** [July 8, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/fix-discourse-installation-on-digital-ocean-that-broke-during-docker-update/315474 "2024-07-08T20:51:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 8

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### Author: ![jericson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jericson/32/116215_2.png) [@jericson](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jericson)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/fix-discourse-installation-on-digital-ocean-that-broke-during-docker-update/315474/8 "2024-07-09T15:51:28Z")

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> [@icaria36](#):
>
> Is this just a coincidence or is there a common cause that other Discourse admins on DigitalOcean will hit if they upgrade?

We didn’t spend any time looking into what caused the problem because I wanted to get @waffleslop up and running as soon as possible. I’ve upgraded my Discourse (hosted on DigitalOcean) servers without a problem. However, I do use the command line rather than the GUI since I have a [non-standard install](https://beta.buildcivitas.com/t/build-civitas-architecture/56).

I can recommend a few things to minimize the risk of extended downtime:

1. **Make a backup before doing anything!** I wonder if there should be a warning in the interface strongly recommending a backup before you can do an update. A recent backup gives me comfort that at least we can spin up a new Droplet and restore things in the worst case.
2. **Make sure you can get to your backup!** @waffleslop and I spent a considerable part of our time figuring out how to get a copy of `/var/discourse` to the new Droplet. Something very weird was going on with the original Droplet and we weren’t able to just `scp` the files to the new Droplet. For my own servers, I put backups on S3 and I [copy them to my local machine every night](https://beta.buildcivitas.com/t/verifying-backups/48). Is that excessive? Probably. But it does give me plenty of options when things stop working for some reason.
3. **Test your backups from time to time.** When your production servers are down, you want to have confidence that you know what you are doing. Ideally you’d test a backup just before doing an update so that you have a place to fall back on if anything goes wrong with production. But it’s usually enough to try a backup as often as needed to keep the process fresh in your mind.
4. **Two heads are better than one.** Maybe this is self-interest talking, but it can be a lot easier to get through an emergency if you can share your screen on a call with someone who has experience with this sort of situation. Ideally you want someone who [knows how to use the command line](https://jlericson.com/2021/08/29/shell_prototyping.html).

As long as you make a backup, you should be pretty safe to upgrade.

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