Backup and restore

Overview

The procedure consists of two parts. The backup full command creates a single archive containing the Installer configuration and files, along with one database dump for each installed component. The restore process runs these steps in the reverse order to fully restore the installation.

All commands are executed from an administrator workstation over SSH against the Installer host. No interactive login to the server is required during the normal workflow when SSH key authentication is used. This also makes it possible to automate and script the entire backup and restore process from a backup server.

Sequence at a glance

Backup

Step	Action	Result
1	Back up the Installation	mividas-backup.tar (or filename of your choice)
2	Adjust file permissions	File becomes readable for download
3	Download the archive	Local copy of the archive
4	Clean up temporary files on the backed-up server	Nothing is left behind in /tmp on the backed-up server

Restore

Step	Action	Result
1	Install a new Mividas Installer on the same version as the source Installer	n/a
2	Copy the archive file to the new Installer	ex: /tmp/mividas-backup.tar
3	Run the restore command	Wait for the restore to complete with output: Full restore complete.
4	Clean up temporary files on the restored server	Nothing is left behind in /tmp on the restored server

Prerequisites

• An administrator workstation with OpenSSH installed, or equivalent (this guide contains commands using OpenSSH, but can of course be done other ways). Windows 10 and 11 include OpenSSH, but it may need to be enabled under Optional Features.
• An account with sudo privileges on both Mividas Installers.
• Sufficient local disk space, the archive can be very large when including logs, statistics, and sensor data. It’s recommended to have at least 60% of free space to make one backup.
• To restore, you need to deploy the Mividas Installer to the same version as the backup was taken from, at least 1.8.21, and complete the basic configuration in the onboard_wizard. The system can be installed on a different IP address, since the backup does not retain the original installation’s IP address.
• Offline Bundles created for all installed Components (only if offline installation).
  For details, see: https://docs.mividas.com/docs/getting-started/mividas-installer/offline-environment/
• SSH key deployed to the remote host, to avoid a login prompt if the script is to be automated (not mandatory):
  • MacOS and Linux: ssh-copy-id admin@<installer-fqdn>
  • Windows: type $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub | ssh admin@<installer-fqdn> "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"

Backup

Create Offline Bundles

Log in to the installer web interface https://<installer-fqdn>:8999 and for each product:

1. Click Details
2. Click Export offline bundles, and wait for the download to complete.

Back up the Installer and all components

The command dumps the Installer database and the .env file, and packs everything into a tar archive on the server.

sudo cli backup full --force --filename /tmp/<filename>.tar

Expected output

=== Backing up installer ===
Dumping database mividas_installer…
Database dump: 276279 bytes
.env file: 317 bytes
Creating archive…
  installer.tar: 286720 bytes

=== Backing up 2 component database(s) ===
Dumping core_rooms_1_3-backuptest_co_db.1.wat4fbgqlrc56ymnudeesjwg7 (stack core_rooms_1_3-backuptest_co)...
Dumping core_rooms_1_1-backuptest_po_db.1.m7bs527nj15ppygvbsl028wjz (stack core_rooms_1_1-backuptest_po)...

=== Writing archive /tmp/mividas-backup.tar ===
Full backup created: /tmp/mividas-backup.tar (1730560 bytes, 2 components)

Command reference

sudo cli backup full --help

usage: cli backup full [-h] [--filename FILENAME] [--include_debuglog] [--include_statistics | --no-include_statistics] [--include_sensor_data | --no-include_sensor_data] [--force] [--allow-partial]

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --filename FILENAME   Output filename. Use "-" to stream to stdout. Omit and pipe stdout to stream automatically. On a TTY without a filename you are prompted before a local file is written.
  --include_debuglog    Include debuglog tables (large)
  --include_statistics, --no-include_statistics
                        Include call statistics; --no-include_statistics leaves them out
  --include_sensor_data, --no-include_sensor_data
                        Include sensor data; --no-include_sensor_data leaves it out
  --force               Skip the interactive "write to local file?" prompt
  --allow-partial       Write the backup even when a component database could not be dumped

Adjust permissions on the archive

The archive is created by root and therefore cannot be downloaded as admin. Grant read permission before pulling the file.

sudo chmod 644 /tmp/<filename>.tar

Download the archive to the local machine

scp admin@<installer-fqdn>:/tmp/<filename>.tar
Verify that you can find the file locally, in the location where you ran the command above.

Remove the file from the server

sudo rm -f /tmp/<filename>.tar

Restore

Deploy a new Installer

You need to deploy a new Installer on the same version as the source Installer. See documentation for detailed steps: https://docs.mividas.com/docs/getting-started/vm-deployment/

Only for Offline environments

1. Go to the installer at https://<installer-fqdn>:8999 and log in.
2. Add the license key in the initial dialog.
3. Go to Settings.
4. Select Import offline bundle.
5. Select the file created earlier and click Import.
6. Repeat for all bundles.

Upload the archive to the target server

scp ./<filename>.tar 'admin@<installer-fqdn>:/tmp/<filename>.tar'

Restore the Installer

sudo cli backup restore-full --yes --force /tmp/<filename>.tar

Deployment takes time. Let the command finish before moving on. At the end of the restore process, you will see:

=== Phase 4/4: final deploy_all ===

Full restore complete.

Clean up temporary files

sudo rm -f /tmp/<filename>.tar

Verify the installation

Log in to each component, including the Installer, to verify that functionality and settings are correct.

One-liners for scripting

If you have uploaded your SSH key and want to create a script that runs the commands without prompting for passwords, use the following commands.

Back up the Installer and all components

ssh -n admin@ 'sudo cli backup full --force --filename /tmp/.tar'

Adjust permissions on the archive

ssh -n admin@<installer-fqdn> 'sudo chmod 644 /tmp/<filename>.tar'

Download the archive to the local machine

scp admin@<installer-fqdn>:/tmp/<filename>.tar

Remove the file from the server

ssh -n admin@<installer-fqdn> 'sudo rm -f /tmp/<filename>.tar'

Upload the archive to the target server

scp ./<filename>.tar 'admin@<installer-fqdn>:/tmp/<filename>.tar'

Restore the Installer

ssh -n admin@<installer-fqdn> 'sudo cli backup restore-full --yes --force /tmp/<filename>.tar'

Clean up temporary files

ssh admin@<installer-fqdn> 'sudo rm -f /tmp/<filename>.tar'