Last updated on December 22, 2015

Backup Using Cold Standby

Introduction

This is a sample Cold Standby implementation, which utilizes two servers, each acting as a primary (active) and secondary (backup) server respectively. The secondary server will remain dormant and will only be called upon if the primary server fails.

The concept of this implementation is illustrated below:

• Full backups are done on the primary server periodically.
• The fully functional secondary server is kept dormant either offline or on standby, and all users are directed to the primary server.
• In the event of a failure, the backups from the primary server are restored to the secondary server.
• Network configurations are made to point incoming access to the secondary server instead of the primary server.

Expectations and Restrictions

To reduce the complexity of this implementation, both backup and switchover processes will be performed manually. While you are able to use available third-party software to automate your backups, the switchover process remains manual.

This makes the switchover process reliant on human intervention, therefore, getting the right people to perform this task is key to reducing overall server downtime.

This implementation also covers Appspace installations with MySQL as the database. For Microsoft SQL deployments, the processes and concepts will be similar with the exception of the database backup portion.

Using This Guide

This guide focuses on two operating conditions; normal and failure. A one-off step of preparing the secondary server will be covered in the first section while the remaining sections will be covered based on the server’s operating conditions as shown in the table below:

Condition	Section	Note
N/A	Secondary Server Preparation	This is a one-off installation.
Normal	Primary Server: Database Backup	Covered in this guide as a manual process but can be automated if desired.
	Primary Server: Appspace Folder Backup
Failure	Secondary Server: Database Restoration	Part of the switchover process.
	Secondary Server: Appspace Folder Restoration
	Secondary Server: Network Configuration

Prerequisites

• IT Administrator-level access to Windows Server environment (2008 or 2012) and an installed Appspace instance.
• MySQL version 5.6 running the latest MySQL Workbench edition (Appspace has been validated for MySQL version 5.6.24).
• Identical license key(s) for the secondary server.
• At minimum, a valid Appspace Cloud Pro login credential for Appspace Installation Center download.

Secondary Server Preparation

As with any new Appspace server installation, you will have to install Appspace on the secondary server. To do so, please ensure you meet the Appspace System Requirements, and follow the instructions in the Appspace Installation guide to setup the server.

Important

Note that you will require a new product key for the secondary server.

Primary Server: Database Backup

This section covers the steps required to backup up the databases in MySQL by manually exporting the individual schemas to self-contained SQL files.

Tip

Should you want to automate this process, you can use any third-party software, but note that the restore process must also use the same third-party software.

1. Run the MySQL Workbench program from the Windows Start menu. Alternatively, you may also locate the program by using the Search programs and files search bar (2008) or the Apps Search function (2012).

   

2. Click ‘Local instance MySQL’. The ‘Local instance MySQL’ tab will be displayed, with the Data Export and Data Import/Restore links shown on the Navigator sidebar.

   

   Note

   You may need to enter the root password (if not already stored in the vault).

3. In the Local Instance MySQL tab, select the Data Export link. Check the box next to the database Schema you would like to export for backup purposes (in this example, we selected the Webman schema), ensure that all the tables are selected in the Schema Objects window. Select the ‘Export to Self-Contained File’ option, and choose an easily identifiable location to store your .sql file (you may also customize the name of the file to your own preference) and click the Start Export button.

   

4. Allow some time for the export process. The progress bar will indicate the status of the task. The task will be completed once the Status indicates that the file has been exported. You may verify this by navigating to the location of the newly-generated .sql file in Windows Explorer.

   

5. Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 for all the other individual databases by creating new self-contained .sql files. Ensure that only one database Schema is selected at any one time, and that the ‘Export to Self-Contained File’ option is selected before exporting.

   

   Important

   The following databases are required by Appspace for the backup process:

   1. aspnetsession
   2. dsnmetrics
   3. playoutmetrics
   4. tokenman
   5. webman

Primary Server: Appspace Folder Backup

Next you’ll have to backup the primary server’s Appspace installation folder. This location of the content folder is set during the Appspace Installation procedure. By default, the location will be at:

• C:\Appspace

Note

In Appspace versions prior to 5.1 (i.e. 5.0.x), the installation and content folders are located here:

• Installation Folder – C:\Nexus
• Content Folder – C:\NexusMediaNet\FTPFastNetV2

1. From Windows Explorer, navigate to the Appspace installation folder. Copy and paste the folder to the desired backup location. You may choose to copy the folder to a location within the server, or to an external source such as a USB drive or a secure cloud storage service.

   

2. Repeat the same process for any other folder that hosts Appspace files. This is only necessary if the folder is located outside the installation folder (e.g. C:\NexusMediaNetFTPFastNetV2).

Secondary Server: Database Restoration

Should the need to power up the secondary server arise, you must import the self-contained SQL file backups to the secondary server.

Important

All steps in this section must be performed on the secondary server.

1. In MySQL Workbench, click the Data Import/Restore link. Select the ‘Import from Self-Contained File’ option, and locate the .sql file in your server by clicking the … button. Choose the appropriate Default Target Schema from the drop-down menu and click the Start Import button.

   

2. Allow some time for the import process. The progress bar will indicate the status of the task. The task will be completed once the Status indicates that the file has been imported. Repeat the same procedure for the other databases (dsnmetrics, playoutmetrics etc).

   

Secondary Server: Appspace Folder Restoration

Once the databases are restored, you may proceed to restore the content folders from the previous Appspace server to the same location in the new Appspace server. By default the location will be at:

• C:\Appspace

Note

In Appspace versions prior to 5.1 (i.e. 5.0.x), the installation and content folders are located here:

• Installation Folder – C:\Nexus
• Content Folder – C:\NexusMediaNet\FTPFastNetV2

1. From Windows Explorer, navigate to the Appspace installation folder. Replace the installation folder in the new Appspace server with the backed-up installation folder from the previous Appspace installation.

   

2. Repeat the same process for any other folder backed-up earlier. This is only necessary if the backed-up folder was located outside the installation folder (e.g. C:\NexusMediaNetFTPFastNetV2).

Secondary Server: Network Configuration

Finally, depending on your server configurations you will have to redirect traffic to the secondary server instead of the primary server. An example will be to change the IP of the Appspace server in the DNS server to the secondary server’s IP address.