Creating a backup

This topic describes how to create a complete backup (including configuration files) of your BMC Database Automation environment using the clarity_backup.pl script. BMC Software strongly recommends that you create a full backup of your environment before installing a service pack or patch, even if you have a backup strategy in place.

Note

This script brings the management server offline during script runtime. The amount of downtime incurred is a function of the amount of data to be backed up and performance of the system, but a good estimate would be 15-30 minutes. In addition to the file-level backup, the Postgres database is shutdown for an offline backup. This means there will be a service disruption during the time in which the backup is done. You must plan accordingly.

To create a backup

Log into the BMC Database Automation Manager as root by using SSH client (PuTTY).
Navigate to the /app/clarity/manager_scripts/bin directory, where the clarity_backup.pl script is located.
Identify a location for the archive (.tar.gz file) that the utility will create.
Note

Ensure that you have adequate amount of storage available for a complete backup.
Set the library path for the script:
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/app/clarity/lib
Run the script:
- To create a backup archive in the current directory (in the format clarity_backup-YYYY-MM-DD-PID.tar.gz), type the following command:
  clarity_backup.pl -c
- To create a backup in a specified file destination (where the script creates the backup file with default name clarity_backup-YYYY-MM-DD-PID.tar.gz), type the following command:
  clarity_backup.pl -c -d /tmp/clarity_backup/
  
  Using this syntax, /tmp/clarity_backup/clarity_backup-YYYY-MM-DD-PID.tar.gz is created.
- To create a backup with a specified file name (where the script creates the backup file with a custom name <filename>.tar.gz), type the following command:
  clarity_backup.pl -c -d /tmp/clarity_backup/mybackup.tar.gz
  
  Using this syntax, /tmp/clarity_backup/mybackup.tar.gz is created.

When the utility runs successfully, output messages similar to the following are displayed:
[root@10.100.5.158 bin]#./clarity_backup.pl -c -l /tmp/clarity_backup.log -d /tmp/manager_backup-2013-08-05-2022.tar.gz
WARN    Backup using /root/clarity_backup-2013-08-05-2022.tar.gz
WARN    Stopping services
INFO    Extracting postgres data
INFO    Backing up configuration and state files INFO    gzipping /root/clarity_backup-2013-08-05-2022.tar... INFO    Validating archive: /root/clarity_backup-2013-08-05-2022.tar.gz
INFO    Cleaning up temporary files
WARN    Re-starting services:
WARN    backup Complete

Command line options

The options for the clarity_backup.pl command are described in the following table.

Command option	Description
`-a`	Creates an archive of files for jobs on or before a specific date (does not include configuration files). The `-e` argument is required with this command; `-b` is optional.
`-b`	Specifies the beginning date of the archiving job history in format YYYY-MM-DD
`-c`	Creates a full backup of the current system and its configuration data. The output file from this operation is the argument provided for recovery (-r <file>).
`-d`	Specifies the destination .tar.gz file that the backup will be written to
`-e`	Displays the ending date in format YYYY-MM-DD.
`-h`	Displays usage information. Used with `-v` (`--h [-v] or --help [–verbose]`), displays additional detailed information.
`-k`	Restores from a backup when used in conjunction with the `-r` option. This command omits host-specific data and configuration files stored in the /app/clarity/dmanager/etc/ directory (such as SSL certificates and related files, and mtd.conf, dmananger.conf, and mesh.conf) from the restored backup that could potentially be overwritten and impact host behavior.
`-l`	Redirects stdout and stderr to the log file
`-r`	Restores database and configuration files from a previous backup (saved as a .tar.gz file) using the `-c` option.
`-s`	Skips the stop or start services cycle and to keep the Manager and database running. This is useful for archiving, but not recommended for full backups.
`-v`	Displays informational messages
`-w`	Do not use. This option is deprecated and used only for backwards compatibility.

Where to go next

Download the installation files after the backup is complete.

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To create a backup

Command line options

Where to go next

Related topics