We need better command line tools for backup/restore

[BIMadmin80]

BIM Server 17 had great, robust command line tools to handle backing up projects, libraries or the whole server. This was very convenient and made backing up and restoring things very easy.

Since BIM Server 18 the CLI tools are able to create backup files, but those files can't be restored back from the command line. Essentially the only way to have a backup of the whole server is to shut it down nightly and copy the whole installation folder somewhere else. The issue seems to be that the CLI tools don't talk back at the Manager module to inform what has happened in the project/library store when the CLI tools are run, and so the Manager isn't aware of the changes.

We need those robust backup/restore tools back to have more options and granularity.

[BIMadmin80]

By the way, BIM Server 21 Backup Guide still references the command line tools, even though they haven't actually worked since version 18.

[Istvan Moharos]

Hi,
Could you please detail a little bit more what have you tried exactly?
Because the command line tools such as TeamworkServerBackupTool and TeamworkServerRestoreTool etc. should work properly.
Regards,
Istvan

[BIMadmin80]

Istvan wrote:
Hi,
Could you please detail a little bit more what have you tried exactly?
Because the command line tools such as TeamworkServerBackupTool and TeamworkServerRestoreTool etc. should work properly.
Regards,
Istvan

TeamworkServerProjectBackupTool "works" in that it is able to create backup files. TeamworkServerProjectRestoreTool "works" in that it is able to take the file to be restored and copy it to the Projects folder.

The problem is that Manager isn't seeing those restored projects. These days the Manager and Server are separate entities and it seems that TeamworkServerProjectRestoreTool hasn't been modified to inform the Manager database that there is a new project in the store.

The only way to restore projects seems to be to import them one by one with the Manager import function. I haven't tried TeamworkServerBackupTool and TeamworkServerRestoreTool recently but I did just try TeamworkServerProjectRestoreTool in BIM Server 20 some time ago.

[BIMadmin80]

I tested TeamworkServerRestoreTool again in BIM Server 20 and the result is the same, Manager doesn't see the restored content even after restarting services. Presumably because the db on the Manager side isn't updated to reflect the restored content.

[Istvan Moharos]

Hi,
It is true that the synchronization with the Manager is not completely automatic, so there are some additional steps which must be done after the restore tool usage (in v19 and newer versions):

• 1. Open the Manager browser interface
  2. Navigate to the Modules page
  3. Select the Server module from the list
  4. Select the Projects or Libraries panel on the right side of the page
  5. Search for projects or Libraries which status is Unused
  6. Select the Unused project or library and use the Load as New option (or use the Link to existing project option)

After these steps e.g. the restored project will appear in the Projects list.

If you want to restore a BIM server completely (this works in v18 as well) into a new installation, then you must create a backup copy from the Manager’s Data and Config folders and the Server module’s Config folder, then before you use the tool, you must restore those folders as well while the BIM server’s services are stopped.

In the Backup Guides you can find some more details about these steps in Page 11:
v18, v19, v20, v21

Regards,
Istvan

[BIMadmin80]

Hey that's awesome! I guess I hadn't read the newer backup guides thoroughly after version 18.

TeamworkServerBackupTool does not backup the user database or other Manager settings. Would be nice if if did that too. Now it requires copying the Manager folders but luckily according to the guide it's not necessary to stop the Manager during the copy.

[BIMadmin80]

Two mistakes I made:

1. I only skimmed through the backup guides for versions 19 and 20. It looked the same with only the text referencing the version changed for new versions.

2. I relied too much on the command line and expected things to work like they worked in older versions.

So study more carefully and look closely for changes in guides and the GUI!

[BIMadmin80]

Istvan wrote:

• 1. Open the Manager browser interface
  2. Navigate to the Modules page
  3. Select the Server module from the list
  4. Select the Projects or Libraries panel on the right side of the page
  5. Search for projects or Libraries which status is Unused
  6. Select the Unused project or library and use the Load as New option (or use the Link to existing project option)

After these steps e.g. the restored project will appear in the Projects list.

I've now tested this and it works, but it has a downside. All the projects and libraries will need to be loaded one by one. For a large number of items this takes a lot of time, almost as much as importing items with a web browser if not counting the upload time.

I just finished migrating an old version 17 BIM Server, what a breeze it was. One command and everything was as it were on the old server. Would be nice to have that back with new versions.