The topics in this section explain how to make a backup of your database at any time, typically for restoration or archival purposes. Geo SCADA Expert also has the ability to generate an automatic backup of the database whenever you upgrade the Geo SCADA Expert software on a server. This is a different type of backup.
ATTENTION: Reloading of backup files should only be performed by experienced system administrators. Please seek advice from Schneider Electric if you are unsure about restoring a backup. Loading backup files such as registry settings without expert guidance could have an unexpected effect on your system and could even stop a Geo SCADA Expert server from running.
If you have created backup database files, you can load them on to the server on which they were created or in some cases onto another server. Be aware that:
- Some database settings are local to the machine on which the backup was performed (for example, IP addresses, and file locations). Take care to upload such data to the correct locations, and to correct (or avoid uploading) any machine-specific settings when loading backup files onto a different server.
- A small percentage of registry settings are encrypted using machine details to prevent the data from being imported onto other machines. Encrypted registry data is intended only to be decrypted by the server that encrypted the data. If you load backup registry files that include encrypted data onto a different server, you will have to re-enter the user data (see Back up the Server's Registry Settings).
- The Archive Index is specific to an individual server (the file does not get synchronized between servers in a Main-Standby setup). When you perform a backup, the backup runs on whichever server is Main at the time. When restoring a backup that includes an Archive Index, take care to ensure that the backup is only restored to the server machine from which that backup was generated.
The ability to load backup files onto a server is useful if your system has had a hardware failure. You can also load backup files if your system has had corrupted data or data has been deleted mistakenly, in which case, you can use the backup files to restore your system to a previous state.
In the latter case, you would use your backup files to restore configuration from a previous time (for example, because configuration changes made at a later date have caused unexpected results). To do this, you only need to load the Metadata, Configuration, Data, and Data Files backups. These files all form part of the Database backup option on the Backup configuration form. (A Database backup will only include Metadata files if custom fields exist on your system
If you are restoring a backup onto a new server or a server that has lost the original data, you can also load the Historic Files, Historic Data, Alarm Summary, Event Journal and Configuration Changes. However, if the server already contains data, you should only load the Historic Data, Alarm Summary, Event Journal , or Configuration Changes backup files if there is a known problem with the historic and event data on your system. This is because those particular backup files will overwrite any existing historic, alarm summary, event, and configuration changes files on your system. As a result, any such data or events recorded after the last time in the backup files may be lost.
To load your backup files onto a server:
- On the server that is to load the backup files, use Windows Explorer to browse to the relevant backup directory. The directory should contain the ClearSCADA_Backup_<System>.zip file that contains the backed up files.
If you opted not to erase the individual backup files as part of the backup process, the directory might also contain sub-directories (one for each type of file that was included in the backup). The sub-directories contain a copy of the individual files that are included in the zip file.
- For each backup directory that you want to load:
- If applicable, display the contents of the zip file and extract the contents to a suitable location.
(You only need to perform this step if the backup directory contains only the zip file. For example, if, as part of the backup process, Geo SCADA Expert is configured to automatically erase the sub-directories and individual backup files once it has included them in the zip file.) - Make a copy of the backup directory that you want to load onto the server.
- Paste the copy into the location defined in the server’s configuration (see Locations of the Database Folders).
When you restore a historic data backup, the backup may comprise several individual backup files. For example, this might be a series of weekly backup files, each of which contains a week’s worth of data. To restore such a backup, start by loading the oldest backup file. You should then load and merge each of the remaining backup files in the correct date order.
- If applicable, display the contents of the zip file and extract the contents to a suitable location.