# Backup Server Data

There are two main methods for backing up system data (including all server configuration data, application configuration data, user settings, messages, and greetings):

- Server Manager Backup (to backup data to a local workstation, an Amazon S3 storage bucket or a network file server that supports SFTP or SMB/CIF)
- Server Console Perform Backup (to backup to a USB device or to a network file server)

Note:

- You can use different filenames for backup files, but the filename must not contain spaces and the file extension must be .tgz. (Note: All backup files of systems prior to Release 9.0 will be titled "smeserver.tgz".)
- The content of the system's /root directory will be included in the backup. To minimize the backup size, delete any temporary unwanted files that administrators might have created during system support activities. Do not delete the content of hidden files and directories such as /root/.ssh and /root/.bash* which are required for proper server functionality.
- The backup file does not include OAuth 1.0 data. Accordingly, if you have implemented ,Google Apps integration with OAuth 1.0 you must re-enter the data after performing a restore procedure. (Note that OAuth 2.0 data is included in the backup file.)

- To enhance system security, MSL 12 removes support for the legacy SMB1 (CIFS) protocol. SMB1 is an outdated and insecure protocol with known vulnerabilities. Customers should ensure that their systems use SMB2 or later for secure file sharing and network communication.

## Server Manager "Backup"

Backup to Desktop

Use this procedure to save your system backup to a file or device on your desktop computer or maintenance PC .

A "Backup to desktop" saves all of the data to a single, large compressed file and is therefore limited by the file system and browser of the client operating system. For example, if you are backing up data to a Windows client that uses the FAT32 file system (the default for many older versions of Windows), you are limited to a maximum file size of 4 GB; newer Windows operating systems that use the NTFS file system have a much larger capacity. If the backup file exceeds the maximum file size of the client operating system, it cannot be properly restored. For this reason, we recommend that you use the Verify Backup File option in the MSL server console to ensure the backup was successful.

1. Under Administration, click Backup.
2. Select the Backup to desktop option.
3. Click Perform. MSL prepares the system for backup.

   The "Operation status report" is displayed with the estimated backup size, along with the "Backup Encryption" option.

4. (Optional) To encrypt the backup file, enter an Encryption Password, and then re-enter it. To create a strong password, use a mix of characters, numbers and symbols, plus both upper and lower case characters. The encrypted backup file is identifiable with an .aes256 extension.
   Note: You will be prompted to enter the password when you restore from backup. If you fail to remember the password, you will not be able to restore the data contained in the backup file.
5. Click Download Backup File.
6. When prompted to Open or Save, click Save.
7. In the file download window that appears:
   - Name the file and then select the location where the file will be saved. Note the backup filename must not contain spaces; otherwise, you will get an error when you attempt to restore it.
   - Click Save. After saving, you can copy the backup file to a CD/DVD or USB storage device, if required. The backup file is identifiable by its extension, either .tgz (unencrypted) or .aes256 (encrypted).

Schedule Backups to Network File Server

Use this option to

- perform immediate system backups to a Network File Server
- schedule daily, weekly, or monthly system backups to a Network File Server

Note:

- You can only have one backup scheduled on the server. To cancel an existing backup schedule, select Disabled and then click Save.
- If you are backing up to an MSL server, configure it to accept access from the backup server. See Configure Network Privileges for details.
- Three file-sharing protocols are supported:
  - SMB/CIFS
  - Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
  - HTTPS to an AWS S3 (storage bucket)

To perform a backup to a network file server:

1. Under Administration, click Backup.
2. From the Select an action list, click Configure network backup.
3. Click Perform.
4. The Network Backups page is displayed.
5. From the Backup Destination Type drop-down list, select the type of network backup.
   - If you select SMB/CIFS, then specify the following details.

     Field | Description
     --- | ---
     IP Address | IP address of the network file server where you have stored the database backup files.
     Username | User name to use when connecting to the network file server.
     Password | Password to use when connecting to the network file server. The network backup password can contain a maximum of 29 characters.
     Domain or Workgroup Name | Domain or workgroup name. Sets the SMB domain of the user name. If the domain specified is the same as the server's NetBIOS name, then instead of the domain SAM, the server's local Security Account Manager (SAM ) is used for authentication.
     Sharename | The file-share name. The shared folder must have permissions set to "Full Control".
     (Optional) Sub Directory | Name of the sub-folder where you have stored the database backup file. The sub-directory is relative to the Sharename.
     Maximum number of backup files to keep | Select the maximum number of backup files to keep (1-999) on the server. When the number of stored files reaches this maximum count, the earliest version is deleted.

   - If you select SFTP, then specify the following details.
     Note:
     - If you are backing up to an MSL server, enter the IP address and the user name and password of the "root" user and leave the remaining fields blank.
     - To ensure successful SFTP backups, is recommended that you enable ICMP through the firewall.

     Field | Description
     --- | ---
     IP Address | IP address of the network file server.
     Username | User name to use when connecting to the network file server.
     Password | Password to use when connecting to the network file server.
     (Optional) Sub Directory | Name of the sub-folder in which to store the backup files. The sub-directory is relative to the root of the file system accessed through the SFTP protocol.
     Maximum number of backup files to keep | Select the maximum number of backup files to keep (1-999) on the server. When the number of stored files reaches this maximum count, the earliest version is deleted.

   - If you select AWS S3, then specify the following details.

     Field | Description
     --- | ---
     AWS Access Key ID | To enable programmatic calls to AWS, you must provide your AWS access key credential set that consists of the Key ID and Secret Access Key. Enter your access key ID here.
     AWS Access Key | The secret access key portion of your AWS access key credential set.
     AWS S3 Region | The AWS region used to access your storage bucket. Stored objects (backup files) will be stored in this region.
     AWS S3 Bucket Name | Your storage bucket name.
     (Optional) Sub Directory | The sub directory (also known as an object prefix) will be prepended to the backup file name created in your bucket.
     (Optional) IAM Role ARN | The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) role with access to the configured storage bucket. Example: arn:aws:iam::827611302152:role/Backup.
     (Optional) Maximum number of backup files to keep | Select the maximum number of backup files to keep (1-999) on the server. When the number of stored files reaches this maximum count, the earliest version is deleted.

     Note: AWS requires that all incoming requests are cryptographically signed. The "signature" includes a date/time stamp. Therefore, you must ensure that your PC's date and time are correctly set. If you do not do this,AWS rejects the request if the date/time in the signature is too far off of the date/time recognized by the AWS service. The PC displays 403-forbidden error status if the date/time is more than 15 minutes off the correct time.
6. (Optional) To encrypt the backup file, enter an Encryption Password, and then re-enter it. To create a strong password, use a mix of characters, numbers, and symbols, plus both upper and lower case characters.
   Note: You will be prompted to enter the password when you restore from backup. If you fail to remember the password, you will not be able to restore the data contained in the backup file.
7. Click the Save button to validate your server configuration. If validation is successful the Backup Now button will appear.
8. Click the Backup Now button to perform an immediate backup.

   The backup file is saved to the network file server. The file is identifiable by its extension, either .tgz (not encrypted) or .aes256 (encrypted).

To perform an immediate backup:

1. Click Backup Now.

To schedule backups to a network file server:

1. Under Administration, click Backup.
2. From the Select an action list, click Configure network backup.
3. Click Perform.
4. Select the frequency with which you want to perform backups. Backup file names will include timestamps, for example: mslserver_<hostname>_yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm.tgz).
   - For Daily backups, select a time of day (hour, minute, AM/PM)
   - For Weekly backups, select a time of day, and day of the week
   - For Monthly backups, select a time of day, and day of month
   - To disable regularly scheduled backups, click Never.
5. Click Save.

## Server Console "Perform Backup"

You can save your system backup to a USB storage device (such as a memory stick or hard drive) or to a network file server that supports SFTP (typically a Linux server, including MSL) or SMB/CIF (typically a Windows server). Any USB storage device that is formatted as FAT32 (DOS), EXT3 (Linux), or NTFS (Windows and Linux) is compatible.

The backup file size limit via USB or network backup is set by the destination file system: 4 GB for a FAT32, 2 TB (terabyte or trillion bytes) for NTFS, and 16 GB to 16 TB for ext3 (depending on file system block size). The current MSL ext3 block size is 4096 bytes which allows file sizes of 2TB.

Optionally, you can encrypt the backup file if you are saving it to a USB device from the server console. This option is not available if you are saving the backup file to a network file server from the server console.

1. Access the server console.
2. Log in as "admin".
3. From the console, select the option to Perform backup.
4. Select a destination for the backup file:
   - Backup to a USB device.
   - Backup to a network file server.

Backing up to a USB Device

1. Select Backup to a USB device.
2. At the prompt, insert the USB device (if not already in place) and click Next.
3. When prompted, enter a filename for the backup file (default is ' mslserver') and click Next. Note the backup filename must not contain spaces; otherwise, you will get an error when you attempt to restore it. The file extension, either .tgz (unencrypted) or .aes256 (encrypted), is automatically added.
4. (Optional) To encrypt the backup file, enter an encryption password, and then re-enter it. To create a strong password, use a mix of characters, numbers and symbols, plus both upper and lower case characters. Click Next.
   Note: You will be prompted to enter the password when you restore from backup. If you fail to remember the password, you will not be able to restore the data contained in the backup file.
5. MSL displays an estimate of the size of your backup. Click Proceed.
6. When the backup is complete, remove the USB device at the prompt. Click Continue.
7. Re-mount the USB and verify that the backup was performed successfully using the Verify Backup Data procedure.

Backing up to a Network File Server

Note: If you are backing up to an MSL server, enter its IP address and the username/password of the "root" user. Leave the remaining fields blank.

1. Select Backup to a network file server.
2. Enter the IP address of the file server where the backup will be stored.
3. Enter the domain or workgroup name of the server. (For example, mitel.com.)
4. Enter the name of the shared folder where the backup file will be stored. (For example, "Backups".) The shared folder must have permissions set to "Full Control".
5. Enter an Optional Sub Director for the backup file. The specified directory must exist in the share folder. The field accepts multi-level directories; for example"MAS/Sept/backups". If you leave this field blank, the system stores the file in the root directory of the specified network share.
6. Enter the username to use when connecting to the backup server.
7. Enter the password to use when connecting to the backup server.
8. Click Next. A progress bar indicates backup status. When the backup is complete, file verification is performed automatically.

## Verify Backup Data

When backing up to a USB device or when using a pre-existing backup file, it is important to verify the file before starting a restore procedure. If your backup file cannot be verified, then it cannot be used to restore system information.

To verify a backup file:

1. Access the server console at the MiCollab server or from a maintenance PC.
2. Log in as "admin".
3. From the console, select the option to Verify backup file.
4. At the prompt, insert your storage medium.
   Note: if your USB device was left mounted after your last backup, you must remove it and re-mount it first. A list of all storage devices found on your system is displayed.
5. If more than one storage device is connected to your system, select the device containing the backup file.
6. If more than one backup file is contained on the storage device, select the file you want to verify.
7. Click OK. Verification of the file is confirmed. If you receive an error message, you cannot use this backup file for the restore. Check your storage media and try the backup procedure again. See the MiCollab Engineering Guidelines for a list of supported USB devices.

## Restore (Disaster Recovery Situations)

When recovering from a disaster situation, it is necessary to reinstall MSL operating system software. Follow the instructions for installation in the MSL Installation and Administration Guide.

Parent topic: Administration
↑