Scheduling Automatic Backups

This section describes how to define automatic backups, including how to automatically save the backup files to a remote FTP or SFTP sever. The following figure shows the Automatic backup window.

Server_setup_backup_1.png

 

The three most recent backup files are listed at the top of the page. When a fourth backup file is added, the oldest file is deleted. You can right click a filename to save it to a local or network drive, or use the option in the following procedure to automatically copy the backup files to a remote server. The saved file includes the date (mm/dd/year) the backup occurred, the ICPAM version number, and other information. For example: bak-02062011-1422251.3.0_0.3.25.cpam-132.

Procedure

To define automatic backups of the ICPAM data and configurations, do the following:

Step 1            Log on to the ICPAM appliance as described in Logging on to the ICPAM Server Administration Utility.

Step 2    Select Setup and then Backup, as shown above.

Step 3            Select the Automatic backup check box.

Step 4            Enter and re-enter a password for the backup file.

This password must be entered when the backup file is used to restore the data.

Step 5            (Optional) Select the Exclude Events box to exclude events from the backup.

·         Events will not be backed up and cannot be restored.

·         To remove historical events from the main database and reduce the size of the backup file, review the Archiving the Historical Events Database.

·         For instructions to prune old events from the main database, or to remove them from the database by creating an archive of historical events, see the Archiving Historical Events.

Step 6            Define the automatic backup schedule.

a. Select the days when the backups will automatically occur:

        To schedule backups for one day per month, select Date and then select a day of the month.
For example: 15.

        To schedule backups once per week, select Weekday and then select a day of the week.
For example: Tuesday.

        To run backups every day, select Daily.

b. Enter the Time when the automatic backups will run.

        Enter the time in 24 hour format (hh:mm:ss).

        For example, to run backups at 2 p.m., enter 14:00:00. To run backups at 1 a.m., enter 01:00:00.

Step 7            (Optional) Automatically copy the backups to a remote FTP or SFTP server.

a. Check the Copy to remote server check box.

The remote server  settings appear, as shown in the figure above.

b. Select the server protocol:

        FTP: for standard File Transfer Protocol servers.

        SFTP: for secure file transfers using the Secure File Transfer Protocol (also known as the SSH File Transfer Protocol).

c. Enter the IP Address of the FTP or SFTP server.

d. Enter the Username for the FTP or SFTP server account.

e. Enter the Password for the FTP or SFTP server account.

f.  Enter the directory Path on the for the FTP or SFTP server where the backup should be saved. The path must exist on the remote server. If the directory is not available, the backup will fail.

Note      If the IP address, username, password, or path is incorrect, or if the server is not available, then the backup is not copied to the remote server. The backup is still created on the ICPAM server.

Step 8            Click Update to save the changes. Backups will occur according to the scheduled day(s) and time.

·         When the backup is complete, the new backup file is added to the top of the screen.

        The backup name includes the date and the server software version number.
For example: February 06, 2011 02:22:25 PM PST.

        The three most recent backup files are saved to the ICPAM server. When a new backup file is added, the oldest file is deleted.

        To manually save the backup file to another location, right-click the filename and select a save option from the browser menu.

·         If the backup is copied to a remote server, a copy of the file is saved to the server location configured in Step 7.

        If the remote server settings are incorrect or the directory path does not exist, the file is not copied and an error message is displayed.

        The backup is still saved to the ICPAM server even if the remote server in unavailable.

See also:

Backing up the ICPAM Database

Backing Up and Restoring Data