Backing up data

Tip: Back up site and user files in different backup directories. This enables quick identification of the files you want to restore. If you back up all the files in the same backup directory, selecting files while restoring can be overwhelming.

Example. Back up Site files to a site_backup directory and User files to a user_backup directory.

To back up data, click Backup/Restore in the shortcuts area of the Home page (Tools section), then follow the instructions below.
 

go to wizard Step1 Step2 Step3

You need to choose the type of backup, select the appropriate mode of transfer and provide the required miscellaneous information.
 

wizard Step1: Choose the type of backup

1. Choose the type of backup, by selecting one of the option buttons in the Type of Backup area.

1. Site - Backs up your site.

2. Users - Backs up data pertaining to users of your site.

Click the arrow in the Users list, and choose only one of the following.

• All - To back up all user accounts

• <name of the User> - To back up a particular user. Press
  Ctrl + the left mouse button to select multiple users.

wizard Step2: Select mode of transfer

2. Choose the mode of data transfer to the backup server.

You can choose to download or FTP the data to the backup server. Large files may take a long time to transfer depending on the quality of your Internet connection. An FTP transfer is recommended as a faster and more reliable option.

1. Download - Ideal for backing up small files to a desktop.

2. In the Download Backup area, select the Download option button to download to a desktop or local server.

3. Go to Step3 of the wizard.

4. Click Download.
   The Download File window opens.

5. Click Download file.
   The File Download window opens asking if you want to open the file or save the file to your computer.

6. Click Save.

7. In the Save As dialog, enter or retain the default name of the backup file.

2. FTP - Ideal for backing up large files to a remote FTP server.

• Important: You should have the FTP server utility installed on the backup server to use this transfer mode.

• In the Backup to FTP Server area, select the FTP option button to transfer the files using FTP to a remote FTP server.

• In the FTP Server field, enter the host name or IP address of the FTP server you want to use as the backup server.

• In the FTP Login field, enter the user name to the FTP server.

• In the FTP Password field, enter the password to the FTP server.

• In the FTP Location field, enter the directory path of the directory on the FTP server you want to use as the backup directory. If you leave the field blank, the files will be saved to the home directory of the user specified in step 3.  

• Important: If the specified directory does not exist, the backup fails and an email message containing the error is sent to you.

• Optional: In the Maximum Backup File Size field, enter the maximum size of the backup file.

• Important: Various file systems and FTP server utilities have limits on the file size they can handle. If the size of your backup file exceeds the file management capacity of the file system or the FTP server utility on your backup server, the file is split into multiple files before continuing with the backup.  
  The split files follow the naming convention given below:
  <backupfilename.tar.gz>
  <backupfilename.1.tar.gz>
  <backupfilename.2.tar.gz>
  where backupfilename is the name of your backup file.

• Go to Step3 of the wizard.

• Click Backup.

wizard Step3: Enter miscellaneous information

3. In the Email field, enter the email address at which you want to receive email notifications.

The status of the backup is conveyed in an email notification sent to the address specified in the Email field.