Maintenance Backup and Restore Operations (Docker)

This section explains how to configure the Sensor Management appliance to create regular backups and how to perform recovery operations.

One type of backup can be made on a Sensor Management appliance:

• Data store backup
  Captures the dynamic changes to the application’s data store. Includes data such as Y.1564 and RFC-2544 test results, daily network element backups, and application user changes. This backup only applies to a Sensor Management appliance. Typically, a data store backup is run on a daily basis.

Sensor Management provides scripts or commands for performing manual backup or restore operations for the data store. This section includes procedures that explain how to use the necessary scripts and commands.

Backing Up the Sensor Management Data Store

Periodically, the Sensor Management appliance makes a backup of its data store.

Data store backups can be accomplished in two ways:

• They can be scheduled to run automatically through the Sensor Management web interface.
  See Scheduling Data Store Backups.

• They can be run manually from the console.
  See Backing Up the Data Store Manually.

The Sensor Management appliance backs up its data store in three steps as shown below.

In the first step, the data store is written to a backup file.

In the second step, the appliance puts the backup file in a backup queue. The content of this queue is visible in the Sensor Management web interface in the Admin ▶ Backup page.

In the third step, the appliance pushes the backup file to a directory on a remote host. You can configure the destination directory for backups using the settings iconin the Admin ▶ Backup page.

Scheduling Data Store Backups

Scheduling of periodic backups is done in the Sensor Management web user interface. See Back Up the Sensor Management Data Store for the procedures to configure periodic backups of the data store.

Backing Up the Data Store Manually

This procedure explains how to manually launch a data store backup operation. It should be noted that it is not necessary to stop Sensor Management software before the backup operation.

Procedure Requirements

A. This procedure must be executed from the console of the Sensor Management appliance.

B. This procedure must be executed as the skylight user. To execute this procedure, you must know the account’s credentials.

C. Sensor Management services must be started.

Procedure Steps

1. Open an SSH terminal session to the Sensor Management CLI on port 2200.

2. Log in as the skylight user.

3. Enter the following command:
   database backup

Restoring a Data Store Backup

This procedure allows a user to manually restore the system from a previous data store backup operation. This procedure can be used in both a data store restore or full node recovery context. Restoring the data store also restores the user accounts of the Sensor Management web application. However, the passwords of these accounts may expire when Sensor Management software restarts.

Procedure Requirements

A. This procedure only applies to the Sensor Management appliance.

B. This procedure must be executed from the appliance console.

C. This procedure must be executed as the skylight user. To execute this procedure, you must know the account’s credentials.

D. The backup file that needs to be restored must be placed on the appliance file system in the /tmp directory.

E. For the purposes of this procedure, the file to restore is assumed to be named: backup_file.gz

Procedure Steps

1. Open an SSH terminal session to the Sensor Management CLI on port 2200.
2. Log in as the skylight user.

Note: The user can only do the restore from the active site. If operating in a hot standby configuration, the restore needs to be done from the currently active site.

3. If operating in a hot standby configuration, stop redundancy by entering:

redundancy control stop

4. Enter: services stop
   Sensor Management software stops.

5. Enter the following command: database restore <filename_of_the_backup_archive>

6. Enter: services star
   Sensor Management software restarts.

7. If you are operating in a hot standby configuration, and after the services have started, you can start redundancy by entering:
   redundancy control start

The data store has been restored.