Backup and Restore

Contents

Backing Up And Restoring Data

Regular data backups are essential for maintaining the integrity of the system in case of sytem failure, software errors or accidental data deletion. Not only should information managers mandate that all IMSMA^NG data is regularly backed up, but more importantly a multitired backup strategy should be used to eliminate data loss. Consider the following options below when developing a backup strategy for IMSMA^NG.

• disk mirroring
• operating system backups
• hard disk backup
• offsite data storage
• IMSMANG-specific backups

Finally, any data backup strategy should include occasioanl tests to ensure that all of the backups are functioning properly.

Backing Up the IMSMA^NG Database

The IMSMA^NG Datebase holds all of the actie data in IMSMA^NG ranging from published reports to general mine action information. IMSMA^NG Backup is responsible for storing all of this data under the MySQL database. The MySQL database dump command impliments a complete backup of all the data in the database. The resulting dump.sql file includes the necessary commands to recreate the database with all the existing data. The existing file is stored in a time-stamped directory for easy access.

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Information Managers can create automatic dailiy or weekly backups using MySQL Administration tools. These backups also work simultaneously with IMSMA ^NG Backup; however any backup made outside of IMSMA ^NG needs to be manually restored.

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Attachments

Attachmes are stored seprately from the IMSMA^NG database on the server file. However because of their size, it may not be necessary to back up the attachments each time. For this reason, IMSMA^NG Backup provides the option of excluding attachments when performing a backup.

Including attachments is still reccomended for complete backups. However, if the file size is too large attachments can be deleted manually. Avoid excluding attachemtns from backups since attachmets cannot be added to the backup file.

Backing Up Other IMSMA^NG Information

Apart from the IMSMA^NG database and attachment stored on the server, IMSMA^NG Backup allows members to backup specific elements from the client including:

• GIS database (.mdb file)
• map files (.mxd, etc)
• field report template files
• iReport template files
• translation .properties files

GIS Dataabase

IMSMA^NG also stores corrdinate data on each client computer in a geodatabase file (IMSMA.mdb) to allow data to be displayed on a map. Even if the file is missing, IMSMA^NG automatically builds this file aftre the system launch. However, it can take several hours. To avoid this, each IMSMA^NG backup should include this file to reduce the time it takes to launch IMSMA^NG after a restore.

Likewise, since the geodatabase is structured on a per-client basis, the best way to fully update the geodatabase is to launch the client prior to backing it up. Once it is backed up, users can shorten the time required to build the geodatabase by manually transferring it to newly installed clinets.

Maps

IMSMA^NG map fiiles can be loaded on a per-client basis and stored in IMSMA^NG Backup, providing an easy way to share maps between clients.

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Field Report Templates and iReport Templates

IMSMA^NGusers can store copies or drafts of field reports templates and iReports templates to the file system. Select the option on the IMSMA^NG Backup window to store these files in the backup.

Translations

Translations and localizations of data elements are stored in the IMSMA^NG database and secured with the database backup. Although the properties files used to translate the IMSMA^NG interface are stored externally to the database, they can be added to the IMSMA^NG Backup. Be sure to backup all properties files each time a change or a full backup is made.