Backing up the MOVEit DMZ system can be done in one of two ways. First, you may elect to use existing backup procedures at your organization to handle backing up the system. If this is the case, you will want to consult the Technical Reference for a complete list of the files, folders, and registry settings that MOVEit DMZ uses, and that need to be backed up.
An alternative to a traditional backup-to-tape method is to use the MOVEit DMZ backup and restore utilities provided by Ipswitch. These command-line utilities perform complete backups and restorations of all the files, folders, certificates and registry settings necessary to replicate your current MOVEit DMZ configuration onto this or another platform.
The backup and restore utilities are capable of backing up and restoring the MOVEit DMZ configuration database (MySQL only), configuration registry keys, folder structure, and custom color schemes, logos, and templates. Encrypted files can also be optionally backed up (they are not by default), as can both server and client SSL certificates (they are by default) to create a complete backup of the MOVEit DMZ state. Both utilities automatically determine where the critical MOVEit DMZ files are located on the server, as well as how to connect to the MySQL database to perform lock operations. Both utilities also provide options to allow administrators to override these automatic detections.
Backups and restorations can be done across differing types of DMZ installations (but NOT differing versions), such as web farm and standalone installations, and installations with differing path structures. This capability requires the backup and restore utilities to NOT backup MOVEit DMZ installation path information, database access information, or email server settings. These are typically configured on a per-installation basis, and should not be replicated across differing servers.
The backup utility's ability to back up the MOVEit DMZ database tables only applies to MySQL databases. When using Microsoft SQL Server as the database for MOVEit DMZ, the utility must be run with the "--without-database" option, and the MOVEit DMZ database should be backed up using other tools. If the utility detects that SQL Server is being used, and the "--without-database" option has not been specified, it will display an error message and exit.
The backup utility obtains a read lock on all MOVEit DMZ database tables before backing up the MySQL database information. This is to ensure that the data does not change during the backup process. As a result, any requests that come in to MOVEit DMZ while the tables are locked will wait until the tables are available again before continuing (the read locks are released once the database tables have been backed up). For this reason, it is best if the backup process is run during off hours.
The backup and restore utilities do NOT back up NTFS permissions, NT users/groups, or IIS settings. If you are using these utilities to maintain a "hot standby", you will need to set these items up on the second box ahead of time. (Frequently people create a hot standby by restoring a full tape backup onto a new machine, then use periodic runs of the backup utility to keep data on the hot standby fresh.)
The backup utility is also not able to override the "do not export private key" setting you may have set when you imported your SSL server certificates. If the utility encounters an SSL server certificate export error related to private keys it will immediately print the error encountered and then exit. You can use the "--ignore-cert-export-errors" option to prevent the utility from exiting like this, however the problem certificates will still not be backed up.
Starting with MOVEit DMZ 3.1.5, the backup and restore utilities are installed by the MOVEit DMZ setup program, and are placed in the MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler folder. The two application filenames are DMZBackup.exe and DMZRestore.exe. The programs need to be in this location in order to use some requisite libraries provided by MOVEit DMZ. These utilities may not work correctly if run from any path other than MOVEit DMZ's Scheduler folder. If the utilities are run from outside the Scheduler folder, an error message will be displayed and the utility will exit.
In addition to the backup and restore utilities themselves, two additional programs are installed for use by the utilities. The first is an archiving application which supports the creation of files larger than 2GB. This application is called 7-Zip and is run using the 7z.exe program file. The second is an SSL certificate extracting application which dumps the various Microsoft SSL certificate stores into a format which is usable by the backup and restore utilities. This application is called ExportCerts.exe.
To perform a simple backup, open a command prompt and cd to the Scheduler subdirectory of your MOVEit DMZ non-web directory. Next, execute the following command.
C:\MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler>dmzbackup
This will create a file called MOVEitDMZ_Backup_xxxxxxxx.7z in your Scheduler directory, where xxxxxxxx is the current date in YYYYMMDD format. This file will contain all the necessary files and information to reconstruct your DMZ configuration. It will not backup the actual encrypted files in your DMZ configuration, however, it will backup the existing folder structure. To backup the encrypted files as well, add the "--with-files" command-line option to the above command.
Since doing a complete backup with files requires a large amount of free disk space on the server (roughly twice as much free disk space as the size of your \MOVEitDMZ\Files directory), many customers opt to run a config-only backup, and then backup the encrypted files in a different way (NTBackup, read-only FTP server, etc.). Customers who use this method should add the "--with-file-tables" option, to force the backup utility to back up the file-related database tables, which are normally skipped when a config-only backup is performed.
If you would like to see what the utility is doing while it runs, add the "--debug" command-line option to the above command. For a complete list of the options available in the DMZ backup utility, see the Backup Utility Commands section below, or execute the following command in your Scheduler subdirectory:
C:\MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler>dmzbackup --help
The DMZ Backup Utility is a .NET console application which runs in the Scheduler directory on a MOVEit DMZ system. The utility is command-line driven, so it can easily be integrated into a batch file. A list of available options can be generated by entering the command "dmzbackup --help". The default values listed for the database location, DSN, and DMZ directories are gathered from the registry on the DMZ system. The values may be overridden by using the command-line options.
C:\MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler>dmzbackup --help
MOVEit DMZ Backup Utility v5.5.0.0
Copyright (c) 2006-2008 by Ipswitch, Inc.
Usage: dmzbackup [options]
Options:
--backup-database-files
Backup the database by copying the table files instead of
using the mysqldump utility. This option should not be used
unless specifically required by the circumstances.
--dbdatalocation=<directory>
Location of database data files (default C:\MySQL\data\)
--dbdsn=<dsn>
Database connection DSN name (default moveitdmz)
--debug
Turn debug mode on
--dmznonwebdir=<directory>
DMZ non-web directory path (default C:\MOVEitDMZ)
--dmzprogramfilesdir=<directory>
DMZ Program Files path (default 'C:\PROGRA~1\MOVEit')
--dmzwebdir=<directory>
DMZ web directory path (default C:\MOVEitDMZ\wwwroot)
--exit-on-cert-export-errors
Exit immediately if an error is detected while backing up SSL
client and server certificates. This option has no effect if
--without-certs is enabled.
-h, --help
Display this help screen and exit
--ignore-cert-export-errors
Do not exit immediately if an error is detected while backing
up SSL client and server certificates. This option has no effect
if --without-certs is enabled. (default)
--output=<output_filename>
Relative or absolute output filepath
(default MOVEitDMZ_Backup_YYYYMMDD.[zip|7z])
The date macros [YYYY], [MM], and [DD] may be used and will
be replaced by the current year, month, and day, respectively.
The time macros [HH], [TT], and [SS] may also be used and will
be replaced by the current hour, minute, and second respectively.
--tempdir=<directory>
Base temporary directory to use
(default C:\DOCUME~1\sdn\LOCALS~1\Temp\)
--use-zip
Use Zip.exe to create the backup file instead of 7z.exe. This will
generally result in a slightly larger backup file, and will fail if
the size of the backup file exceeds roughly 2GB, but is faster than
7z. Use if your file collection is small (<2GB).
--use-7z
Use 7z.exe to create the backup file instead of zip.exe. This will
generally result in a slightly smaller backup file, and supports
backup files larger than 2GB, but is slower than zip. Use if your
file collection is large (>2GB). (default)
--with-certs
Back up SSL client and server certificates from the Microsoft
Certificate Store. Certificate backup files will be encrypted. (default)
--without-certs
Do not back up SSL server and client certificates
--with-files
Back up encrypted files along with DMZ filesystem structure
--without-files
Do not back up encrypted files along with DMZ filesystem structure (default)
--with-file-tables
Back up the file tables from the database. This is implied when using
--with-files, but is not on by default when --without-files is in effect.
Since --without-files is on by default, file tables are not backed up by
default.
--without-database
Do not back up database (use if managing database backup by a
different method)
--without-ftpnatmap
Do not back up FTP NAT mappings (use if backup DMZ has different
IP address)
--without-ipbindings
Do not back up IP bindings for FTP and SSH services (use if backup
DMZ has different IP address)
--7z-no-compression
Force 7z.exe to use no compression when creating the backup file. Will
generally result in a larger backup file, but is much faster. Use if
your file collection has many large, incompressible files (compressed
video files, disk images, etc). This option has no effect if
--use-zip is enabled.
NOTE: Paths with spaces can be entered by surrounding the entire argument
with quotes. For example:
"--tempdir=D:\Temp Dir\Sub Folder"
The backup utility creates a backup file by copying all desired files, folder structures, and settings into a temporary directory, and then archiving the contents of that directory using either Zip or 7-Zip. The temporary directory is then removed at the end of the procedure. The following details the specific actions taken by the backup utility:
To perform a simple restoration, you must first have completely installed MOVEit DMZ on your target system. For best results, the version of DMZ should be the same as the version that you backed up. (If this is not the case, such as if you are migrating your DMZ server to a new platform, and are upgrading to a new version at the same time, you will need to re-run the MOVEit DMZ installation program after the restoration and choose the Repair option. Be sure to read our MOVEit DMZ Migration Guide if this is what you are doing.) You must also have transferred the backup file to the target system. Once you are ready to begin the restoration, open a command prompt and cd to the Scheduler subdirectory of your MOVEit DMZ non-web directory. Next, execute the following command, making sure to substitute your correct backup file path for the entry in the brackets below:
C:\MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler>dmzrestore <path to your backup file>
The restore utility will stop your webserver and database before actually restoring files. It will then decompress the backup file to a temporary location and then copy the backed up files to their appropriate locations. Finally, it will restart the database and webservers. If you would like to see what the utility is doing while it runs, add the "--debug" command-line option to the above command. For a complete list of the options available in the DMZ restore utility, see the MOVEit DMZ Restore Utility section below, or execute the following command in your Scheduler subdirectory:
C:\MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler>dmzrestore --help
NOTE: A DMZ restoration will overwrite all existing configuration information with the information found in the backup file. DO NOT run a restoration on a system that has information you want to keep.
Like the backup utility, the DMZ Restore Utility is a .NET console application which runs in the Scheduler directory on a MOVEit DMZ system. The utility is command-line driven, so it can easily be integrated into a batch file. A list of available options can be generated by entering the command "dmzrestore --help". The default values listed for the database location, DSN, and DMZ directories are gathered from the registry on the DMZ system. The values may be overridden by using the command-line options.
C:\MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler>dmzrestore --help
MOVEit DMZ Restore Utility v5.5.0.0
Copyright (c) 2006-2008 by Ipswitch, Inc.
Usage: dmzrestore [options] <dmzbackupfile>
Options:
--dbdatalocation=<directory>
Location of database data files (default D:\MySQL\data\)
--dbdsn=<dsn>
Database connection DSN name (default moveitdmz)
--debug
Turn debug mode on
--dmznonwebdir=<directory>
DMZ non-web directory path (default D:\MOVEitDMZ)
--dmzwebdir=<directory>
DMZ web directory path (default D:\MOVEitDMZ\wwwroot)
-h, --help
Display this help screen and exit
--tempdir=<directory>
Base temporary directory to use (default C:\DOCUME~1\Administrator\LOCALS~1\Temp\)
--use-zip
Use Zip.exe to extract the backup file instead of 7z.exe. Use if you used
the --use-zip option when creating the backup file. If neither this, or
the --use-7z option is selected, the decompresser will be selected
automatically, based on the backup file extension (.zip will cause zip.exe
to be used, all other extensions will cause 7z.exe to be used).
--use-7z
Use 7z.exe to extract the backup file instead of zip.exe. Use if you used
the --use-7z option when creating the backup file, or allowed the default
action to occur. If neither this, or the --use-zip option is selected, the
decompresser will be selected automatically, based on the backup file
extension (.zip will cause zip.exe to be used, all other extensions will
cause 7z.exe to be used). (default)
--with-files
Restore encrypted files along with DMZ filesystem structure if they exist
in the backup file (default)
--without-files
Do not restore encrypted files along with DMZ filesystem structure even if
they exist in the backup file
NOTE: Paths with spaces can be entered by surrounding the entire argument with quotes.
For Example:
"--tempdir=D:\Temp Dir\Sub Folder"
The restore utility, like the backup utility, first creates a temporary directory. It then extracts all files from the backup file into the temporary directory, and then copies the backed up files to their appropriate locations, overwriting any existing files. In order to correctly perform the restore, it first stops the webserver and database server. The services are restarted once the restore is complete, and the temporary directory is removed. The following details the specific actions taken by the restore utility:
Ipswitch recommends backing up the configuration structure of a MOVEit DMZ server every night, preferably during off-peak hours. The following steps will show how to create such a backup process using the DMZ Backup Utility, the MOVEit Xfer command-line secure transfer client and the Windows Scheduled Tasks system. This backup process requires the MOVEit DMZ web service to be up. The process will consist of a batch file which stops the web server, backs up the DMZ system, restarts the web server, and finally uploads the backup file to a location on the DMZ server itself. From there, the backup file should be pulled down and stored in a safe location (the MOVEit Central super-client is recommended for this step).
Several things should be done before actually creating the backup process. First, a copy of all the needed software should be obtained and installed. On the MOVEit DMZ server, this should include the DMZ Backup Utility and a copy of MOVEit Xfer (MOVEit Xfer is a free command-line secure transfer client available from Ipswitch). Next, a user needs to be created to handle uploads, temporary storage, and downloads of backup files. This user should only be allowed to access DMZ from whatever internal machine will be handling the downloading of backup files from the system (access from the local machine is automatically allowed). Follow these steps to create a backup user:
The batch file commands that will execute the backup process are shown below. These commands should be copied to a batch file located in the MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler directory. Appropriate values must be substituted in for the pseudo-values surrounded by less-than (<) and greater-than (>) symbols. You may also remove or add any additional "--" options you want to be part of the process.
rem *** AUTOMATED MOVEit DMZ Backup Procedure ***
SET Task=DMZBackup
del %Task%.err
rem Execute the backup process. This will create
rem a file with the name MOVEitDMZ_Backup_YYYYMMDD.7z,
rem where YYYYMMDD is the current year, month, and day.
rem A log of the results and another containing just the errors will also be saved
dmzbackup > %Task%.Log 2>%Task%.Err --tempdir=<temp directory> --without-files
rem If there were any errors in the logs, notify the administrators
for /F %%A in ("%Task%.Err") do If %%~zA equ 0 del %Task%.Err
IF EXIST %Task%.Err GOTO errors
GOTO ok
:errors
echo ERRORS
ReportErrors.exe %Task% %Task%.err %Task%.Log
GOTO done
:ok
echo OK
rem If all OK...
rem Upload the file to the DMZ server
xfer > %Task%xfer.Log 2>%Task%xfer.Err -quiterror -z -user:<backup account username> -password:<backup account password> -s:dmz_bkup_commands.txt localhost
rem If there were transfer errors, notify the administrators
IF NOT %ERRORLEVEL%==0 GOTO xferbad
:xferok
rem Delete backup file
del /Q MOVEitDMZ_Backup_*
GOTO done
:xferbad
ReportErrors.exe %Task%_During_Xfer %Task%xfer.Log %Task%xfer.Err
GOTO done
:done
The command file which MOVEit Xfer will execute to upload the backup file is a very simple file and should have the name "dmz_bkup_commands.txt". It is shown below.
prompt mput MOVEitDMZ_Backup_*
The Windows Scheduled Tasks service is used to schedule the running of the backup process. The process should be scheduled during off hours. Follow these steps to schedule the backup process:
The automated backup process should now be set up and ready to run. You may test the process by right-clicking the scheduled task entry for the backup process in the Scheduled Tasks window and selecting "Run."
At this point, a client on the internal network can be used to pull the backup file off of the MOVEit DMZ system and store it to a safe location, such as a fileserver location that gets regularly backed up to tape. MOVEit Central makes automating this task simple and effective. A MOVEit Central system on the internal network can be used to pull down the backup file at some time after the file is created, and then forward that file off to a safe location. Follow the steps below to configure MOVEit Central to perform this task.
An automated restore process can be useful for keeping an up-to-date hot-standby copy of MOVEit DMZ for use during loss of the primary DMZ system. The process relies on one or more clients such as MOVEit Central to transfer the backup file from the primary DMZ to the backup DMZ. Once the backup file has been transferred to the backup DMZ, the restore process will download the file and restore it to the local system.
A copy of all the needed software should be obtained and installed. This should include the DMZ Restore Utility and a copy of MOVEit Xfer. No user configuration should be necessary, assuming the hot-standby machine has previously been manually synced to the primary machine. This process will use the same user account that the backup process used.
In order to allow the restore process to download and process the backup file correctly, it should always be put on the server with a constant name. Using MOVEit Central, this can be accomplished by configuring the Filename section of the Destination element to a fixed name, such as "moveitdmz_backup.7z".
The batch file commands that will execute the restore process are shown below. These commands should be copied to a batch file located in the MOVEitDMZ\Scheduler directory. Appropriate values must be substituted in for the pseudo-values surrounded by less-than (<) and greater-than (>) symbols.
rem First, download the backup file from the rem DMZ server xfer -z -user:<backup account username> -password:<backup account password> -s:dmz_rstr_commands.txt localhost rem Next, execute the restore process.. dmzrestore --tempdir=<temp directory> <DMZ backup filename> rem Delete backup file del /Q <DMZ backup filename>
The command file which MOVEit Xfer will execute to download the backup file and then remove it from the DMZ server is a very simple file and should have the name "dmz_rstr_commands.txt". It is shown below.
prompt mget moveitdmz_backup_*.7z mdel moveitdmz_backup_*.7z
As with the backup process, the Windows Scheduled Tasks service is used to schedule the running of the restore process. The process can be scheduled for any time after the file is scheduled to arrive on the DMZ server, since this DMZ server should be a hot-standby, and not currently in production use. Follow the directions in the Creating an Automated Backup Process section to create a scheduled process.
The automated restore process should now be set up and ready to run. You may test the process (assuming you have a file to download) by right-clicking the scheduled task entry for the backup process in the Scheduled Tasks window and selecting "Run."
With backup and restore processes properly configured to keep a hot-standby machine synced with a primary machine, as shown above, an organization can easily provide redundant DMZ services. If the primary machine goes down for any reason, the hot-standby should be able to jump in without any further configuration, since it should always be running and synced to the primary. The only configuration required to change over would be in the routing and DNS systems, to point customers at the standby instead of the primary.
Two batch files in the "Scheduler" folder allow administrators to easily start and stop all MOVEit DMZ services in a safe order with a single command.