Backup and Restore

To enable recovery after a crash or disaster in your Spotfire system, it is important that information stored in the system is backed up. Most of this is stored in the Spotfire Database, but some of it is stored on the Spotfire Server(s) and the Spotfire Web Player server(s). This physical will not describe how to perform backups, only what to back up. It is assumed that you have some sort of backup software for files and computers, and that you use the backup tools provided with the database. Refer to the database documentation for instructions on how to perform backups.

One can only restore to a machine running the same operating system as the backed up system, since there is a bundled Java runtime with binaries for a exact architecture.

Back up each server in the cluster.

For other components in the Spotfire system, such as the Spotfire Web Player, refer to their installation manuals for instructions on how to perform backups of them.

The next sections describe what desires to be backed up.

Spotfire Database

The most important part of the Spotfire system is the Spotfire Database. It contains tables which store the state of the server, for example the library, preference, and deployments. Most of the Server configuration is also stored in the database. If only the database has been backed up, it is still possible to restore most of the functionality after a crash. It is therefore vital that you have a valid and current backup of the Spotfire Database.

Note : Verify your backups.

Spotfire Server

A small set of configuration is unique for each Spotfire Server and it is stored on the actual Spotfire Server rather than in the database. This includes information about how the Spotfire Server connects to the Spotfire Database, which ports the server should listen to, authentication methods such as Kerberos etc.

During installation the server files are fundamentally all placed in the installation directory. It should be sufficient to back up this directory; of course it is possible to back up the entire file system.

Once a server has been configured or patched there are no constant changes. Log files and other temporary files will change, but a restored backup will have the same functionality.

The configuration which is not in the database includes:

·         Listening ports configuration

·         Information about how to connect to the Spotfire Database

·         Logging configuration

·         Memory configuration

·         HTTPS

·         Authentication such as Kerberos or Client Certificates

·         Database drivers.

When performing advanced configuration, you must always take backup into consideration.

Whenever you make any configuration changes or have applied a server patch, you should also perform a backup of the Spotfire Server installation directory.

Windows Installations

On Windows installations, there is functionality which will not be restored by only recovering the server installation directory:

·         Windows Service

·         Uninstall functionality

·         Start Menu shortcuts

The Windows Service can be (re-)installed using the bat file service.bat located in the <installation dir>\tomcat\bin directory. Run it from a command line with the following

arguments: C:\tibco\tss\4.5.0\tomcat\bin>service.bat install

Uninstallation can be done by removing the service and simply remove the installation directory.

The Start Menu shortcuts can be backed up by copying them to the server installation directory, back that up, and, when restoring, copying these files to the start menu directory.

UNIX and GNU/Linux Installations

On UNIX and GNU/Linux installations, no essential data is placed outside the installa-tion directory by the Spotfire Server. If you have a startup scripts for the server, it will need to be recreated.

Network Considerations

If you are using Kerberos you should note that configuration needed for this to work is tied to a exact machine and cannot be easily copied to a new one.

You should also consider any other conditions in your environment and their implica- tions, such as IP addresses and firewall rules, LDAP restrictions, and anything else that may affect getting a system back up and running.

Disaster Recovery

In the event of a disaster, where you have no valid backups available, you must think of the following:

·         Without a valid backup of the Spotfire Database, you will not be able to restore your Spotfire system to its previous state. You must therefore have a valid and current backup of your Spotfire Database.

·         Without a valid backup of the Spotfire Server(s), you can get a functional environment by installing a new Spotfire Server, make sure that it can connect to the database, and configure the things which are stored locally