System Backup and Restore

System Backup and Restore enables you to archive your system and restore it. In the event of a system failure, a backup can be restored to a newly installed Secure Email Gateway with minimal data loss.

You can select the areas to backup, configure an FTP server to host the backup files, and schedule an automated backup at regular intervals.

System areas available for backup and restore

System Area	Description
Configuration	Content security policy defined in the Policy menu Configuration options selected in the System menu SMTP settings PMM settings Custom reports created in the Reports menu
Held messages	Messages currently detained by the content security policy
PMM	PMM user information including user email addresses and trusted senders
Tracking and Report Database	Report data and message information that acts as the source for reports produced in the Report menu
System logs	System logs produced by the Gateway

System Backup and Restore is only to be used as a means of disaster recovery and system upgrades. System Backup can be used when planning to upgrade your product. Do not use System Restore to a configured Gateway. Do not use System Backup & Restore for any purposes other than disaster recovery and system upgrades, for example, as a method of cloning the Gateways when creating a peer group. For any purposes other than disaster recovery and system upgrades, use Configuration Backup and Restore as a means of archiving configurations.

Backup the system

The Gateway enables you to transfer your system areas to a specified FTP server as a backup.

• Impact on Secure Email Gateway

  The backup process can involve extracting and uploading a large amount of data from your Gateway to a hosting server. The first time you perform a backup, the process may take several hours to complete. Subsequent backups to the same location are faster, as the Gateway only exports data that has been added or changed since the previous backup operation.

• Interrupting a backup

  It is recommended that the backup process is not interrupted. However, if it is necessary to cancel a backup, you should restart the Message Area Manager service. This leaves an incomplete backup on the FTP server, which will not be restorable. See Service Control for more information on how to start and stop services.

How do I...

• Perform a system backup

  1. Navigate to System > Configuration > Backup & Restore. The Backup & Restore page is displayed.
  2. In the task panel, click Backup System Now. The Backup System Now dialog is displayed, enabling you to check your FTP Settings and the System Areas to backup.

  3. Select the system areas you wish to backup.

  4. Click Backup. The export process begins.

• Schedule an automated system backup

  You can schedule a maximum of one backup per day.

  1. Navigate to System > Configuration > Backup & Restore. The Backup & Restore page is displayed.
  2. Select the System tab.
  3. In the Backup Settings panel, click Click here to change these settings.
  4. Select the Enable system backup check box.

  5. Select the system areas you wish to backup.

  6. Use the schedule grid to select the times and days to perform the backup.

     It is recommended that you select a time of day when there is minimal activity on the Gateway.

  7. Click Save.

• Configure an FTP connection

  1. Navigate to System > Configuration > Backup & Restore. The Backup & Restore page is displayed.
  2. Select the System tab.
  3. In the FTP Settings panel, click Click here to change these settings.

  4. Enter the details of your FTP server.

     Setting	Description
     Server type	FTP, FTPS (implicit), FTPS (explicit) or SFTP
     FTP Server	The fully qualified domain name or IP address of the FTP server
     Port	The port connecting the Gateway to the FTP server (the default is 21). See Firewall ports for a list of default ports.
     User name	Logon credentials for the FTP server
     Password	Logon credentials for the FTP server
     Remote folder	The directory on the FTP server in which the backup files are stored. This folder is created automatically during the backup process if it is not found on the server.

  5. Click Save.

• Test an FTP connection

  1. Navigate to System > Configuration > Backup & Restore. The Backup & Restore page is displayed.
  2. Select the System tab.
  3. In the task panel, click Test FTP Settings. The Test FTP Connection dialog is displayed.
  4. Edit or correct the details of the FTP Server as required, and click Run Test. The test results is displayed in the dialog.
  5. Click Close.

Restore the system

The Gateway enables you to restore system areas from an FTP server. To restore a backup, you must have full access to the FTP server that stores backup files from the Gateway.

If a system area has not been backed up, you will not be able to restore it.

• Gateway settings affected by a system restore

  Any new areas of the system configuration (e.g. lexical expressions and content rules) that do not exist in the backup will not be removed during the restore process.

  After performing the restore operation, the Gateway is fully functional in the state it was configured at the time of the most recent backup.

  However, as a background task, any restored held messages are automatically re-indexed. If there is a large number of messages to restore, this operation could take several hours to complete. Messages cannot be viewed until they have been re-indexed. When the re-indexing operation completes, a Restore Completed Successfully alarm is raised.

  PMM activity (e.g. PMM users releasing or deleting messages) is not restored.

How do I...

• Restore the system from a backup

  1. Navigate to System > Configuration > Backup & Restore. The Backup & Restore page is displayed.
  2. In the task panel, click Restore System. The Restore System Now dialog is displayed.

  3. Enter the details of your FTP server.

     Setting	Description
     Server type	FTP, FTPS (implicit), FTPS (explicit) or SFTP
     FTP Server	The fully qualified domain name or IP address of the FTP server
     Port	The port connecting the Gateway to the FTP server (the default is 21). See Firewall ports for a list of default ports.
     User name	Logon credentials for the FTP server
     Password	Logon credentials for the FTP server
     Remote folder	The directory on the FTP server in which the backup files are stored. This folder is created automatically during the backup process if it is not found on the server.

     If you change any of the FTP settings, you must also re-enter the Password to save the changes.

  4. Click Connect. The Gateway connects to the FTP server.

     The dialog displays the host name of the Gateway, the software version and the date and time of the most recent system backup. If the backup was performed on a group of peered Gateways, the details of each Gateway are displayed.

  5. Select the row displaying the system you wish to recover. The details are displayed.
  6. Select the system areas you wish to restore.
  7. Click Connect. The dialog displays a notification indicating that the restore operation has started.

  8. Click Close. The System Restore Status page is displayed, indicating the progress of the restore operation. When the operation is complete, the welcome page is displayed and the Gateway reboots.

     On the System Restore Status page, the sizes displayed in the Transferred column might differ from the sizes of the folders stored on the FTP server. This is because the files on the FTP server are compressed, while the transfer is not.

See also...

• Backup and Restore
• Configuration Backup and Restore