Backing up and restoring system configuration

Milestone recommends that you make regular backups of your system configuration as a disaster recovery measure. While it is rare to lose your configuration, it can happen under unfortunate circumstances. It is important that you protect your backups, either through technical or organizational measures.

Backing up and restoring your system configuration (explained)

The system offers a built-in feature that backs up all the system configuration you can define in the Management Client. The log server database and the log files, including audit log files, are not included in this backup.

If your system is large, Milestone recommends that you define scheduled backups. This is done with the third-party tool: Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio. This backup includes the same data as a manual backup.

During a backup, your system stays online.

Backing up your system configuration can take some time. Backup duration depends on:

Your system configuration
Your hardware
Whether you have installed the SQL Server, Event Server component and the Management Server component on a single server or several servers

Each time you make a backup both manual and scheduled, the SQL database's transaction log file is flushed. For additional information about how to flush the translatction log file see SQL database transaction log (explained).

Back up log server's SQL database

Handle the log server's SQL database by using the method that you use when handling system configuration as described earlier. The log server's SQL database contains all your system logs, including errors reported by recording servers and cameras. The default name of the log server's SQL database is SurveillanceLogServerV2.

The SQL database is located on the log server's SQL Server. Typically, the log server and the management server have their SQL databases on the same SQL Server. Backing up the log server SQL database is not vital since it does not contain any system configuration, but you may appreciate having access to system logs from before the management server backup/restore.

Manually backing up your system configuration (explained)

When you want to perform a manual backup of the management server's SQL database that contains your system configuration, make sure that your system stays online. The default name of the management server's SQL database is Surveillance.

Here are a few things to consider before you start the backup:

You cannot use a backup of the SQL database to copy system configurations to other systems
It can take some time to back up the SQL database. It depends on your system configuration, your hardware, and on whether your SQL Server, management server and Management Client are installed on the same computer
Logs, including audit logs, are stored in the log server's SQL database and are therefore not part of a backup of the management server's SQL database. The default name of the log server's SQL database is SurveillanceLogServerV2. You back up both SQL databases the same way.

Backing up and restoring the event server configuration (explained)

The content of your event server configuration is included when you back up and restore system configuration.

The first time you run the event server, all its configuration files are automatically moved to the SQL database. You can apply the restored configuration to the event server without needing to restart the event server, and the event server can start and stop all external communication while the restoration of the configuration is being loaded.

Backup and restore fail and problem scenarios (explained)

If, after your last system configuration backup, you have moved the event server or other registered services such as the log server, you must select which registered service configuration you want for the new system. You can decide to keep the new configuration after the system is restored to the old version. You decide by looking at the host names of the services.

If your restore of the system configuration fails because the event server is not located at the specified destination (for example, if you have chosen the old registered service setup), do another restore.

Back up system configuration manually

From the menu bar, select File > Backup Configuration.
Read the note in the dialog box and click Backup.
Enter a file name for the .cnf file.
Enter a folder destination and click Save.
Wait until the backup is finished and click Close.

All relevant system configuration files are combined into one single .cnf file that is saved at a specified location. During the backup, all backup files are first exported to a temporary system backup folder on the management server. You can select another temporary folder by right-clicking the notification area's Management Server service icon and by selecting Select shared backup folder.

Restore system configuration from a manual backup

Important information

Both the user who installs and the user who restores must be local administrator of the system configuration SQL database on the management server and on the SQL Server
Except for your recording servers, your system is completely shut down for the duration of the restore, which can take some time
A backup can only be restored on the system installation where it was created. Make sure that the setup is as similar as possible to when the backup was made. Otherwise, the restore might fail
If you do a backup of the SQL database and restore it on a clean SQL Server, then the raise errors from the SQL database will not work and you will only receive one generic error message from the SQL Server. To avoid that, first reinstall your XProtect system using the clean SQL Server and then restore the backup on top of that
If restoring fails during the validation phase, you can start the old configuration again because you have made no changes
If restoring fails elsewhere in the process, you cannot roll back to the old configuration
As long as the backup file is not corrupted, you can do another restore
Restoring replaces the current configuration. This means that any changes to the configuration since last backup are lost
No logs, including audit logs, are restored
Once restoring has started, you cannot cancel it

Restoring

Right-click the notification area's Management Server service icon and select Restore Configuration.
Read the important note and click Restore.
In the file open dialog box, browse to the location of the system configuration backup file, select it, and click Open.

The backup file is located on the Management Client computer. If the Management Client is installed on a different server, copy the backup file to this server before you select the destination.
The Restore Configuration window opens. Wait for the restore to finish and click Close.

Select shared backup folder

Before backing up and restoring any system configuration, you must set a backup folder for this purpose.

Right-click the notification area's Management Server service icon and select Select shared backup folder.
In the window that appears, browse to the wanted file location.
Click OK twice.
If asked if you want to delete files in the current backup folder, click Yes or No depending on your needs

Scheduled backup and restore of system configuration (explained)

The management server stores your system's configuration in an SQL database. Milestone recommends that you regularly make scheduled backups of this SQL database as a disaster recovery measure. While it is rare to lose your system configuration, it can happen under unfortunate circumstances. Luckily, it takes only a minute, and backups also have the added benefit that they flush your SQL database's transaction log.

If you have a smaller setup and do not need scheduled backups, you can back up your system configuration manually. For instructions, see Manually backing up your system configuration (explained).

When you back up/restore your management server, make sure that the SQL database with the system configuration is included in the backup/restore.

Requirements for using scheduled backup and restore

Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio, a tool download-able for free from their website (https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/).

Apart from managing SQL Servers and their databases, the tool includes some easy-to-use backup and restoration features. Download and install the tool on your management server.

Back up system configuration with scheduled backup

From Windows' Start menu, launch Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio.
When connecting, specify the name of the required SQL Server. Use the account under which you created the SQL database.

Find the SQL database that contains your entire system configuration, including event server, recording servers, cameras, inputs, outputs, users, rules, patrolling profiles, and more. The default name of this SQL database is Surveillance.
Make a backup of the SQL database and make sure to:

Verify that the selected SQL database is the correct one
Verify that the backup type is full
Set the schedule for the recurrent backup. You can read more about scheduled and automated backups on the Microsoft website (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/logs/the-transaction-log-sql-server?view=sql-server-2017
Verify that the suggested path is satisfactory or select alternative path
Select to verify backup when finished and to perform checksum before writing to media

Follow the instructions in the tool to the end.

Also consider backing up the log server's SQL database with your logs by using the same method. The default name for the log server's SQL database is SurveillanceLogServerV2.

Backup and restore event server configuration

The content of your event server configuration is included when you backup and restore system configuration.

Restore system configuration from a scheduled backup

Requirements
To prevent system configuration changes being made while you restore the system configuration SQL database, stop the:

Management Server service (see Managing server services)
Event Server service (can be done from Windows Services (search for services.msc on your machine. Within Services, locate Milestone XProtect Event Server))
World Wide Web Publishing Service, also known as the Internet Information Service (IIS). Learn how to stop the IIS (https://technet.microsoft.com/library/cc732317(WS.10).aspx/)

Open Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio from Windows' Start menu.

In the tool do the following:

When connecting, specify the name of the required SQL Server. Use the user account under which the SQL database was created.
Find the SQL database (the default name is Surveillance) that contains your entire system configuration, including event server, recording servers, cameras, inputs, outputs, users, rules, patrolling profiles, etc.
Make a restore of the SQL database and make sure to:
- Select to back up from device
- Select backup media type file
- Find and select your backup file (.bak)
- Select to overwrite the existing database
Follow the instructions in the tool to the end.

Use the same method to restore the log server's SQL database with your logs. The default name of the log server's SQL database is SurveillanceLogServerV2.

The system does not work while the Management Server service is stopped. It is important to remember to start all the services again once you have finished restoring the database.

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