Backing Up or Restoring Server Configuration

When migrating from a development, staging, or test computer to another computer, you cannot simply copy over EFT's configuration files to the new host. You can use the EFT Migration Wizard (pictured below) to gather each of the necessary files, then package them into one easy-to-transport file. The Migration wizard can recreate the entire folder structure and settings automatically or you can run it in manual mode and verify every setting as you step through the wizard. (Physical folders under the VFS are not recreated when the configuration is restored. However, if those physical folders are present at the time of restoration, then any VFS permissions assigned to the folders are retained.)

The EFT Migration Wizard is an interactive tool designed to assist you in the following situations:

  • Performing Disaster Recovery. If the production Site is corrupted and configuration is lost, damaged, or destroyed, the wizard can assist you with restoring EFT to a prior working state.

  • Migrating from staging to production or to new hardware. If you want to move EFT from a staging or development box to a production server or have set up a Server with one or more Sites on one computer and want to move it to another computer or a different network location, the wizard can assist you with gathering all the necessary files for a successful move.

    • If you are migrating from a test environment to a production environment and do not need to keep the test environment's Server, Site, and user configuration settings, you do not need to use the EFT Migration Wizard. You can just start from scratch, and run the Server, Site, and New User wizards on the new system.

    • The migration wizard will only accept backups created with the same version that is being restored to; using backups from different versions will not work.

    • To restore, you will use the login credentials of the server administrator that you are logged in as, regardless of the credentials used to back up the configuration.

  • Backing up for disaster mitigation (routine backups, or backup prior to major changes). If you need a backup to be readily available and require automatic backup, the wizard can backup all of your settings. The EFT Migration Wizard can also help if a major change is about to be made, such as new hardware changes to the EFT computer, and you need a mechanism to manually backup the current configuration. The EFT Migration Wizard can take a snapshot immediately before the major change takes place, in addition to the automatic daily backups.

The migration fails if there is a mismatch/discrepancy in listening IP addresses, VFS root or structure, Authentication Manager settings, DMZ Gateway settings, or database connectivity.

The Migration wizard backs up the entire EFT configuration in an archive file at a path that is accessible to the EFT service.

Log files are not backed up in the Backup and Cleanup Rule (because that is intended as a configuration backup). You can create your own Event Rule to back up log files, if needed.

The following items are backed up to C:\ProgramData\Globalscape\EFT Server\Backup (by default):

  • The configuration files

  • All certificates and keys that are pointed to from configuration files

  • Any custom reports

  • Advanced properties

  • The \Web\ folder to capture any customizations

The wizard can be initiated manually in the EFT administration interface from the File menu or automatically in Event Rules. When you create your first Site, a Timer Rule is created that runs the Backup Server Configuration Action once a day at midnight, using all defaults for naming and backup location (\backup\Server Configuration Backup [Month] [Day] [Year].bak). The Rule includes a Cleanup Action to delete backup files (*.bak) older than 30 days in that same folder. This Backup and Cleanup Rule is enabled by default, but you can disable it and edit it as necessary.

It is a good idea to save the backup on a drive other than on the one on which the EFT is installed. If EFT's hard drive fails, you will want to use the backup to restore configuration. Refer to Backup Server Configuration Action for details of editing the Backup and Cleanup Rule.

To manually back up Server configuration

  1. On the main menu, click File > Backup Server Configuration. The standard Save As dialog box for your operating system appears.

  2. Specify the location in which to save the backup, then click Open. Save the backup on a drive other than on the one on which the EFT is installed. The configuration is saved and is named Server Configuration Backup [Month] [Day] [Year] with a .bak extension.

  3. One of the following occurs:

    • If a "backup successful" message appears, click OK to dismiss the message.

    • If a failure message appears, restart the EFT service, then run the backup again.

Any configuration changes made since the backup are, obviously, not included in the restore. For example, if you have deleted or added users since the last backup, those users will have to be deleted or added again after you restore.

Backups from IPv4-only EFT versions will listen only on IPv4 addresses; if all listeners selected for administrative connections are unavailable, then switch to listening on localhost.

To restore Server configuration

  1. Install and activate the product on the target system, if restoring to a different computer.

  2. After installation is complete, the New Administrator Connection wizard appears. You must configure the local connection (that is, create the LocalHost Server object in the tree) before you can restore from backup.

  3. In the Connection wizard, leave This computer selected, and specify the Label for the local connection. By default, the label is LocalHost. Because LocalHost is a very common label, it is a good idea to change the label to something that is easily identifiable in error logs, reports, and remote connections. For example, GS_EFTS. You can label EFT anything you want; the EFT name is not dependent upon the computer name.

  4. After you are logged in to EFT, do one of the following:

    • In the Server Setup wizard, click Restore from Backup.

    • On the main menu, click File > Restore Server Configuration.

    The Confirm Server Restore dialog box appears.

  5. Provide the administrator login credentials for the configuration being restored, and then click Restore. (You can use the EFT administrator credentials, Windows Authentication, or the currently logged on user's credentials.) The EFT Migration Wizard appears.

  6. Select the folder icon to select the backup to restore. The path to the backup file appears in the Backup file location box. The Selected Archive Details area displays the date the backup was made and the username that created the backup, if it was a manual backup, or "Automatic Recurring Backup" if it was an Event Rule-created backup.

  7. Click Next. The Restore Options page appears.

  8. Select the Restore node-specific data check box to restore data that is specific to that node (that is, listening IP address, DMZ Gateway settings, registration).

  9. Select the Restore cluster-shared data check box to restore data that is shared amongst the cluster. When this check box is selected, the Recreate the entire folder structure check box is also selected. Clear that check box if you do not want to recreate the folder structure.

    10. When the restore process begins, other nodes stop with -1 error. This triggers them to be restarted by Windows Service Manager, at which point those other nodes will wait for restore operation to complete. Once the restore has completed on one of the nodes, the other nodes that had been waiting will proceed with loading configuration. After the restore completes, the node that did restore also restarts in the same way. Thus, all nodes in the cluster have restarted with restored configuration up-and-running.

  10. Click either Automatic Restore or Manual Restore:

    11. Automatic Restore prompts only when the wizard encounters discrepancies or problems with restoring. Automatic Restore is the default setting. In automatic mode, you are not prompted to verify settings or allowed to change them.

    1. Click Automatic Restore. The Recreate the entire folder structure check box is selected by default. Clear this check box if you do not want to recreate the VFS folder structure.

      2. If your EFT folder structure includes user folders (for example, C:\Inetpub\EFTRoot\MySite\Usr\<username>), if you clear the Recreate the entire folder structure check box and do not recreate these folders manually, the users will not be able to access their folders.

    2. Click Next. The Ready to Restore page appears. Read the information on the page, and then click Restore.

    3. After the Server is restored, restart EFT and log in to the administration interface. A log appears describing the restore process, including file names and paths, and contains any errors encountered during restore.

    Manual Restore allows you to verify and make changes to settings, as needed.

    1. Click Manual Restore, and then click Next.

      The Server Administration Connectivity page appears.

    2. Review the IP address for each Site. If you are restoring a Site to a different IP address, click to edit the IP address in the New IP Address Assignment list. The Sites to Restore page appears.

    3. Click Next. Select the check boxes of the Sites whose settings you want to import and clear the check boxes of the Sites whose settings you do not want to import.

    4. Click Next. In the Site Listening IP Address Assignment page appears. Click the links to specify one or more IP addresses to use (or All Incoming), and then click OK.

    5. Click Next. The Site Authentication Manager Settings page appears.

    6. The authentication database for each Site to be restored appears in the list. In the Settings column, click View/Modify if you want to view or change the path where EFT will store the user database. (You cannot change the type of authentication.)

      • If EFT cannot connect to the Site's authentication provider, an error message appears.

      • Click OK to continue as is or click Cancel to modify the authentication provider settings.

    7. Click Next. The Site Root Folder page appears.

    8. Review the root folder location for each Site that you are restoring. If necessary, click the folder icon to specify a different location, and then click Next.

    9. If the DMZ Gateway is defined and configured in EFT that you are restoring, the DMZ Gateway page appears. If not, skip this step.

      1. Review the IP addresses and ports for the DMZ Gateway. Click to edit the IP address or port, if different.

      2. Click Next. EFT will test the DMZ Gateway connection and, if successful, the wizard proceeds to the next page.

      • If a failure occurs, the wizard displays a warning prompt indicating failure to connect to the DMZ Gateway and allowing you to either fix the problem (go back to the previous page to verify the IP address and port) or proceed anyway (if the IP address and port are correct, but the DMZ is not communicating).

    10. If the Auditing and Reporting module is defined and configured in EFT that you are restoring, the Auditing Database Connectivity page appears. If not, skip this step.

      • Click Test to verify connectivity to Auditing and Reporting Module queue and, if successful, send a test message to the database. If a connection to the database cannot be made within 5 seconds, a warning prompt appears. (Verify that the database is available.)

    11. Click Next. Database connectivity is again verified and the Ready to Restore page appears.

    12. Read the information on the page, and then click Restore.

    13. A message appears indicating whether the configuration was successfully restored. Click OK.

    14. Review the log if errors were encountered during restore.