FileHold server backup and recovery guide

Customers are responsible for arranging the backup of their data if their systems are not being hosted by FileHold Systems. This guide is intended to assist you to create a backup plan for your data that is stored in your FileHold system.

We are happy to review your backup and restore strategy as part of your current FileCare agreement. FileHold professional services are available if you require more extensive assistance with preparing a backup strategy.

There are many reasons to maintain a backup of your data including ransom ware attacks, equipment failure, data centre failure and user error. Every good backup plan should include regular restoration tests. No special FileHold license is required to test restoring from a backup as long as testing can be completed within 7 days. Test licenses are available for customers that need more time to complete their tests.

In addition to backing up the elements in the table below, the following data protection points should also be considered. Having only one element of safety in place is only satisfying the bare minimum of disaster recovery and business continuity procedures.

• Regular server or virtual machine imaging and off site data storage at regular intervals.
• Redundant disk subsystem such as RAID or similar support from a SAN or NAS to protect databases and documents. Redundant disk subsystems can survive single and in some cases multiple failures without losing data.
• Set up the Microsoft SQL maintenance plan to backup Microsoft SQL databases and SQL log on a nightly basis.
• Backup software such as Windows Server Backup which comes with Windows Server third party solutions such as Paragon Backup, Acronis True Image, AOMEI Backupper or NovaBACKUP.
• Retain restore points far enough back to enable restoration from a wide variety of issues. If someone accidentally deletes a metadata field value and no one notices for over a week, you will be out of luck if you only have a weeks worth of backup data.
• If your FileHold server is installed in a third party cloud, make sure you understand their policy for backup. Simply being in the cloud does not mean you can ignore the backup topic.

FileHold Systems Inc. does not endorse any specific backup solution as every customer's needs are different. Since FileHold employs industry standard tools and techniques, a wide variety of backup solutions are possible.

System server elements to back up

The following table contains the list of the databases, instances or directory locations that need to be backed up on a regular basis:

Elements to backup	Applicable versions	Data location*
FileHold Application Server	All	C:\Program Files\FileHold Systems\
Windows ADAM Instance	14.x and lower	C:\Windows\ADAM
Microsoft SQL Databases ch_documentrepository ch_fulltextsearch ch_librarymanager ch_userrolemanager ch_workflowpersistencestore	All All All All 12.x and lower	C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL DATA
Microsoft SQL Log Files	All	C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Log
Microsoft SQL Backup files	All	C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Backup
FileHoldData -> Document Repository	All	E:\FH\DR
FileHoldData -> FullTextSearch	All	E:\FH\FullTextSearch
FileHoldData -> FHURM (ADAM instance)	12.x and lower	E:\FileHoldData\FHURMBackups
Any custom add-ons you have for your FileHold system

* The data locations are examples of typical locations. Your locations may defer depending on how SQL and FileHold were originally install and configured.

We recommend excluding backing up files in repository locations with the extension CH as these are normally temporary files that exist during the upload of documents to FileHold. It is possible that backup software could interfere with writing these files and the user will get an error. This problem increases in likelihood when files are large enough to require being transferred in multiple "chunks".

Backing up the FileHold server example

The following sections describe how to back up the various elements of the FileHold server in the event of a server failure using Windows Server Backup as an example. There are many other types of backup software, such as Symantec Backup Exec, which can be used.

For more information on Windows Server Backup, see the help in the application.

To backup the FileHold server

1. Using the Wizard, select all of the items to be backed up as outlined in the table above.
2. Specify when the backup should be performed. For example, 3 AM.
3. Specify the destination for the backup. In this example, we will back up to a volume.
4. Enter any other required information into the wizard.
5. Click Finish. You have now created the backup schedule for the FileHold server.
6. To verify the backups are working, check the location where the backups are being stored after the data has been backed up.

Example restore procedure for a FileHold server with only data backups

If your entire FileHold system is contained in a single virtual guest server, backup and restore may be as simple as creating and restoring a snapshot or checkpoint of your guest. Be aware that you should have more than a single copy of your guest in case your system was damaged multiple days/weeks before you realized the damage. Also be aware that if damage is caused by malware, the malware may exist in your system for a long time before it causes the damage. When you restore the guest, the malware may still be present.

1. Configure a server according to the normal FileHold system requirements.
2. Reinstall the FileHold server software.

The version you install must be the same as you used to create the data. FileCare can provide you installers for any supported version of FileHold upon request.

3. Restore your application server folder backup. Adjust server and database names as needed using FHIT.
4. Restore your database backup.
5. Restore your repository backup, full text search index backup and ADAM backup (for versions prior to 15).
6. If your server hardware has changed you will be granted an automatic 7 day license for version 14.2 and later. If you have an older version or before 7 days is up, re-activate FileHold with a new server license file. Follow this procedure to request a new license key. Please copy [email protected] in the email and also state that you are recovering from disaster using backups. Describe the situation as thoroughly as possible.
7. Test that FileHold is working normally.

Your FileCare subscription does not include restoring your backups and or recreating your system following a disaster, but it does include helping you to confirm your backup process, plan the steps of your restoration, and confirm the server is running correctly after a restoration. FileHold professional services are available if you need assistance recreating your FileHold system.