RepliGo Server Backup & Restore 3

The Backup & Restore application is used for backing up RepliGo Server data, and recreating the settings on a new installation. It is also used to assist migration from previous versions of RepliGo Server to version 3.

This article augments the corresponding sections in the RepliGo Server Administrator’s Guide Version 3. The instructions in this article replace those found in the Tools tab of the RepliGo Administrator configuration console. (That tab will be removed from future versions of RepliGo Server.)

Click this link to download the latest version of RepliGo Server Backup & Restore 3.

The download is a .zip archive containing a folder. Unpack that folder to a directory of your choosing on the computer where RepliGo Server is installed. The Backup & Restore application is run by opening the backrest.exe program inside the unpacked directory.

Upgrading Between RepliGo Server versions 3.x

To upgrade from one version of RepliGo Server 3.x to another, follow the Backup & Restore instructions in the RepliGo Server Administrator’s Guide.

Migration From Versions of RepliGo Server <3.0

RepliGo Server Backup & Restore 3 will restore settings saved from RepliGo Server versions 1.3, 2.0, and 2.1, to a new installation of RepliGo Server version 3. Upgrading from a version of RepliGo Server earlier than those is not supported, though may succeed since the data format in version 1.3 for the settings and document cache is the same in earlier versions.

The process for upgrading to version 3 is to back up the settings and data using the Backup & Restore application downloaded from the link above, and to restore those settings after the old version of RepliGo Server has been uninstalled and the new version is installed. Follow these steps after reading the rest of this article in case you are affected by any of the issues described in sections below:

  • Stop the old RepliGo Server service in the Windows Services control panel.
  • Open the file mysql_up.bat which is found in the webapps\srvcore\WEB-INF\srv\app\mysql sub-directory of the RepliGo Server install directory. It should bring up a Command Prompt window with nothing in it, indicating the database is ready to be accessed. Do not close this window manually, it will be closed below.
  • Run the downloaded Backup & Restore version 3 application on the existing RepliGo Server, using the Backup feature to create an archive of settings and user data. (Store the archive outside of the RepliGo Server directory, the default location is the root of the C: drive.)
  • Open the file mysql_down.bat which is found in the webapps\srvcore\WEB-INF\srv\app\mysql sub-directory of the RepliGo Server install directory. It should cause the Command Prompt window from the mysql_up.bat command in the earlier step to be closed.Known Issue: User Store Migration
  • Uninstall the old version of RepliGo Server.  Make sure the RepliGo Server install directory is completed removed.
  • Install RepliGo Server version 3, following the instructions in the Administrator’s Guide.
  • Stop all the RepliGo Server services in the Windows Services control panel, except for the RepliGo Server Data Manager service.
  • Run the Backup & Restore application again, and use the Restore feature on the archive that was created in the second step, to bring the settings and data into the new installation.
  • Start the RepliGo Server services in the Windows Services control panel.

At this point, you will be ready to follow the configuration instructions in the Administrator’s Guide and take advantage of the new features in version 3.

Document Cache

The default setting for the Backup portion of the application is “off.” This feature has the potential to consume much CPU and disk space, as described in the RepliGo Server Administrator’s Guide.

If you are using Microsoft Exchange with your BES installation and your RepliGo Server is version 2.1, there is little reason to turn the feature on for Backup, because the cache can be re-populated with a document so long as it is available in the user’s Exchange account. Backing up and restoring the document cache may improve efficiency and performance during the period where frequently accessed documents are being loaded into the cache, but provides no functional difference.

For older versions of RepliGo Server, and for installations using Lotus Domino or Novell GroupWise, it may be more important to backup and restore the document cache. Attachments in users’ device Inbox were loaded into the cache at the time the message containing the attachments were received. If RepliGo Server version 3 is installed without restoring the document cache as it existed before the upgrade, those documents will not be available for RepliGo viewing. The number of documents this affects depends on the “Cache duration” setting in RepliGo Server, which defaults to seven days worth of documents.

Known Issue: Document Handling Setting

There is a special case to be handled for sites that gradually move their users’ devices to an updated version of the RepliGo client, rather than upgrading them all at once. Users running the RepliGo Professional client that was deployed from previous versions of RepliGo Server will continue to function with RepliGo Server version 3, but be aware that the migration of their private storage on the server happens at the time the data is backed up and restored to version 3.

RepliGo Server version 2.1 introduced the ability for users to save their attachments to a private storage area on the server. These documents are stored in an encoded format in the user_store directory in the RepliGo Server install directory. When the Backup & Restore application is used to migrate that data over to a version 3 installation, those documents are stored in a different format in a new directory called user_documents. Version 3 of the RepliGo Professional client will access private documents in the new directory, but old clients will not.

Because of the change, there is a window of time in-between (1) the upgrade of the server, and (2) the upgrade of client, where users should not save their attachments to their private storage. If they do so with an old client, those documents will not be accessible in their private storage after they upgrade to the version 3 client. For this reason, it is best for people who use the private storage feature heavily to upgrade to the version 3 client as soon as possible after the server has been upgraded. As the system administrator you can tell who these users are by the number of directories found under their respective directories in the user_store directory, one each per document saved.

Backup & Restore Log File

The Backup & Restore application leaves a log file called backrest.log in the same directory where the backrest.exe program is located. If you have any issues with the application, a Cerience support representative will likely want a copy of that file.

This support article applies to RepliGo Server for BlackBerry.