Information About Backups
This section includes the following topics:
■Backup Environment
■What System Data is Backed Up
■When to Run a Backup
Backup Environment
While you can run a backup for a network environment where there is only a single Cisco Vision Director server, the recommended environment that is described in this document is a redundant environment for either Platform 2 or Platform 3 servers or a virtualized environment. In a redundant environment, you are running Cisco Vision Director on a primary server, with a secondary server connected to the same subnet where the backup data from the primary server is saved.
The backup process can be scheduled and also run manually. When a backup is completed, the CMS is automatically restarted.
What System Data is Backed Up
There are several areas of Cisco Vision Director that need to be backed up. The backup process backs up the following areas of the Cisco Vision Director server:
■Cisco Vision Director Content Management System (CMS)
■Cisco Vision Director database
■Cisco Vision Director system configuration files
■Content Integration data
■Dynamic Menu Board data (including GAR files)
CAUTION : The Proof of Play raw data in the var/sv/pofp/rawdirectory is not backed up.
■Proof of play report data in the /var/sv/pofp/data directory
When to Run a Backup
You should run a manual backup whenever you perform any of the following tasks:
■Add / modify the Channel Guide
■Content update (menu board, L-Wrapper) JPG, SWF, and so on
■Add / modify zones and groups
■Add / modify DMP and phone
■Add / modify Luxury Suite
■Update Management Dashboard registry
■Update Control Panel
CAUTION:
1. Stop any running script before starting a manual backup.
2. Do not start a game/event script during a backup.
3. Do not operate the Cisco Vision Control Panel / Management Dashboard until the backup is complete.
Prerequisites for Running Backups
Note : Configure the primary and secondary servers for backup operation as part of the initial server setup.
For more information about configuring the servers for backup, see Backing Up and Restoring Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director Servers in the Cisco Vision Director Server Administration Guide.
Before you can run backups, meet the following conditions:
■The backup account has been enabled on the secondary server
■The primary server has been set up for automatic backup and restore
Best Practices for Managing Backups
■Perform a manual system backup prior to starting the game script.
■Back up all components (highly recommended).
■Stop the active game/event script from the Management Dashboard before starting the manual backup.
■In Cisco StadiumVision Director Release 4.1 and later releases, the backup task can run even while an event script is running. As part of this change, the database is no longer optimized or repaired during the backup process—a new TUI option is added to run database maintenance manually if needed.
■Do not operate the Cisco Vision Director Control Panel or Management Dashboard until the backup is complete.
Scheduling a Regular Backup
User Role: Administrator
After you have configured the servers to support the backup process, schedule backups using the Management Dashboard in the Cisco Vision Director software.
Note : We recommend that you schedule backups while the Cisco Vision Director servers are not actively running scripts or performing other event processing.
To configure a backup to run on a regular schedule:
1. From the Management Dashboard, go to Tools > Advanced > Scheduled Tasks.
2. Click Add Row and scroll to the new blank line.
3. Click in the Task Type column and type BackupTask (Figure 1).
Note : Type the name of the task exactly as shown with upper and lowercase characters.
Figure 1 Scheduling a Regular Backup Task
4. Click in the Task Time column and specify the time (in 24:00 format) when you want the backup to run.
5. Click in the Servers column and type config.
6. Click Apply.
Starting a Backup Manually for Immediate Execution
User Role: Administrator
If you want to start a backup immediately, run a backup process manually.
To start a backup manually for immediate execution:
1. From the Management Dashboard, go to Tools > Advanced > Run a Task
2. In the Tasks to Run box, select the BackupTask (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Running a Scheduled Backup Task Manually
3. Click Apply.
The backup begins immediately. When completed, the CMS is automatically restarted.
IMPORTANT : The “success” message that appears means the backup task has started. It does NOT mean the backup task has completed.
Verifying Backup Completion
User Role: Administrator
To verify backup completion, confirm that a backup file exists and that no errors appear in the log file.
Verifying That a Backup File Exists
IMPORTANT : Verifying the existence of a backup file only tells you tha a backup file was attempted but not necessarily if there were any errors.
To verify that a backup file exists:
1. From the Management Dashboard, go to Tools > Advanced > Restore system data from backup
2. Verify that backup files with dates and times appear.
Finding Backup Errors in the Log File
IMPORTANT : Be aware that the messages “Starting backup” and “Backup completed” will always appear in the log, regardless of success.
You can access log files in the following ways:
■Text Utility Interface (TUI)
■System State Report from the Cisco Vision Director main menu.
■By running grep –i backup sv_dev_debug.log (requires root access).Figure 3shows an example of log output for a successful backup without errors.
To find backup errors in the log file:
1. Open the /opt/sv/servers/config/logs/sv_dev_debug.log file.
2. In the sv_dev_debug.log file, find messages that include the string “com.cisco.sv.backup.”
These are the backup process messages.
3. Find the “Starting backup” message.
4. After the “Starting backup” message (but before the “Backup completed” message), look for a “com.cisco.sv.backup” message that also includes “ERROR” in the string.
If you find this error, the backup did not complete successfully.
Figure 3 Successful Backup Log Output Example From Grep
Modifying the Number of Backup Files to Retain
User Role: Installer (Administrator)
To reduce the amount of disk storage required in your system, the default backup retention policy is to keep one backup file. This retention policy can be modified to retain 2, 5, 7, or 10 backup files.
For more information, see the Backing Up and Restoring Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director Serversmodule in the Cisco Vision Director Server Administration Guide.
Starting a Restore Manually for Immediate Execution
User Role: Administrator
As with backups, you can schedule the restore process or run it manually. When the manual restore screen is displayed, it lists backups from both the backup and restore directories, concatenated together. This allows you to run a manual restore on either the primary or the secondary server.
CAUTION : You cannot run a restore while an event script is running. Also, if your venue was running an event script when the backup took place, then those scripts will be running after the restore.
An automated restore always uses the most recent backup file in the restore directory.
To start a restore manually for immediate execution:
1. From the Management Dashboard, go to Tools > Advanced > Restore system data from backup
2. For Components, select All components except Scheduled tasks (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Running a Restore Task Manually
3. (Optional) If you do not want to restore the latest backup (the default), then in the "System backup time" box, select the date and time of the backup file that you want to restore instead.
4. Click Apply. The restore begins immediately.
Note : If you need to also restore the scheduled tasks, you can rerun the Restore system data from backup and for Components, select Scheduled Tasks.
Restarting Cisco Vision Director Software After a Restore
User Role: Installer (Administrator)
After you perform any restore on a Cisco Vision Director server, you must restart the Cisco Vision Director software to resume normal operation of the services.
For more information about using the TUI, see the Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director Server Text Utility Interface module of the Cisco Vision Director Server Administration Guide.
To restart the Cisco Vision Director software:
1. Log into the TUI.
2. Go to Cisco Vision Server Administration > Restart Dynamic Signage Director software.