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 IMSMANG 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 IMSMANG.


  • 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 IMSMANG Database

The IMSMANG Datebase holds all of the actie data in IMSMANG ranging from published reports to general mine action information. IMSMANG 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 IMSMANG 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, IMSMANG 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 IMSMANG Information

Apart from the IMSMANG database and attachment stored on the server, IMSMANG 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

IMSMANG 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, IMSMANG automatically builds this file aftre the system launch. However, it can take several hours. To avoid this, each IMSMANG backup should include this file to reduce the time it takes to launch IMSMANG 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

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


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Field Report Templates and iReport Templates

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


Translations

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