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Backup: Best practice
We recommend you set up your mSupply backups in the following manner
Disk configuration
Use RAID 1 or 5
- RAID 1: two disks mirrored, so data is written to each disk
- Advantages
- if one disk fails you continue work from the other disk
- if the RAID controller fails, you can directly connect one disk and continue work.
- RAID 5: 3 or more disks, with one disk containing checksum information so that if any disk in the set fails, the set can be rebuilt.
- Advantages:
- The disk set can be easily expanded by adding disks if needed.
- Disadvantages
- You are reliant on the RAID controller, as disks can not be used without the controller. For critical data we recommend you have a spare RAID controller of exactly the same model you have installed in the server available.
Use a hot spare
This is a spare disk that the RAID controller will use if a disk in the RAID set fails.
Add another single disk to receive backup data
This disk is not part of the RAID
Backup your live data
- Configure mSupply server to
- Use the single disk as it's backup location
- backup your data nightly
- use a log file. A log file (journal) records each database action as it happens. In the event of a power failure or other adverse event, all changes can be recovered from the log file.
Configure a secondary backup location in mSupply
mSupply can be configured to copy every Xth backup from the backup folder to another volume. The destination can be on the same machine, or elsewhere on the network
Configure off-site backup
Use Spideroak™ or Dropbox™ to backup your secondary location to the their internet servers If needed configure an off-site computer to also synchronise with the backup service provider so you have an off-site copy as well as the “cloud” copy.
Mirrored servers
We have the technology to provide mirrored servers when very high availability is required. Contact us if interested. A charge will apply for implementation
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