Advice for performing backups (on-prem installations)
Depending on your IT infrastructure setup, backup advice can vary. While ResearchSpace is not responsible for backups of on-premises deployments and installations, we understand that backups are an important factor when choosing and operating a software solution.
We have created this document to advise on the different ways possible to backup your RSpace deployment. This document is general advice regarding different backup methods. Backup and restore plans should always be discussed with your IT team.
What should be included in a backup
All of these are should be backed up regularly (at least nightly). The file locations below are standard location, however please double check as in non-standard installs they may be different.
- RSpace Database (MySQL & MariaDB) - /var/lib/mysql
- The "mysqldump" tool can also be used to backup databases
- Newer versions of RSpace use MariaDB while older versions use MySQL
- The RSpace filestore - /media/rspace/file_store/
- RSpace Log files - /media/rspace/logs-audit/
- RSpace configuration & application files - /etc/rspace/
Running RSpace on bare-metal
If you're running RSpace on a Linux bare-metal install (a physical server hosting RSpace) then your backup options are as follows:
- Using a commercial backup tool such as Veeam to backup the log files, RSpace configuration, RSpace filestore and the RSpace database
- Using open-source software such as rclone or rsync to backup the log files, RSpace configuration, RSpace filestore and the RSpace database
This only performs a backup of RSpace, it doesn't backup the operating system. Databases can also be backed up with the mysqldump tool
Running RSpace on a hypervisor
If you're running RSpace inside of a virtualized Linux operating system, then in addition to the backup methods listed in the bare-metal section you can also use specific hypervisor backup tools.
This has the added benefit of backing up the whole operating system and not just RSpace. Hypervisor backup tools can be provided by the hypervisor developer or by a third party company and each hypervisor provides different backup / restore tools. Consult your hypervisors documentation regarding this.
Testing Backups
You should test backups regularly as suggested by your IT team or provider. Many of the tools include automated restore functions that can test backup integrity, however it's always recommended to perform simulation restores to ensure that backups will be fully functional in the event of restoration.