Backup and restore

Concept

Backing up CHILI Publisher is a straight forward process.
CHILI Publisher does not use any kind of database. Only files are used, so backing up you data should be pretty straight forward.

Backing up CHILI is identical to backing up any other server. 
When a backup is running there is always a change that files are locked because they are being used at the time of the backup. 
The next time the backup is running these files will probably not be busy and will be backed up. This is also why when a server is running 24/7 backups are done with different intervals. Or have an incremental backup running every hour.
You can run a backup when the service is running.

Where is my data?

Logged in to the CHILI Backoffice, you can see where your data folder is, using the Server tab, and the settings panel

Open

The "server base directory" shows you where the data is to be found on the server.
Taking a closer look to this directory will show you the content of this directory.

If you back up this directory to a secure location, we are convinced that in case of an emergency, your CHILI Publisher server will be up and running as soon as the data is restored.

Important things to know

• Depending on you application, the data-directory can grow very fast. So be sure to take regular backups. Since the system is file driven, start right after the installation of your server, and make incremental backups very often.
  This way the backups will be up to date when you need them.

• Incremental backups: Most software will allow you to make backups of only new and changed files. This will help you to keep the network free.

• Network: Since CHILI Publisher files can grow very fast, you might consider a seperate network (other network adapter) for the backups.

• Keep your backups away from the production server (think about fire)

• Update your documentation every time you change the setup.

Restoring

When disaster strikes, be sure to come prepared.

• Is your setup documented (IP, internal IP, path to CHILI Publisher data, firewall settings, ...)?

• Do you keep your documentation about the setup in a secure location? (What if the building with the procedure + backup burns down)

• Do you have a spare machine (virtual) ready?

• Do you have a cold or hot spare machine ready with CHILI installed?

• Is your data located in the failed machine, or is your data backed up?

If you don't have a cold or hot spare CHILI Publisher machine ready, please get in contact with us.
We will guide you to install a new CHILI Publisher instance. But we will need to know from you where we can find the most recent backup.

Tools

You can use any software for incremental file back-up.

A tool we use on our servers is Delta copy. This tools is based on the rsync algorithm, also used in Linux machines.
Great thing is you can sync directly over the network.

http://web.synametrics.com/SyncrifyVsDeltaCopy.htm