Backing up Actinic

[Angela]

Hello,

I want to start backing up my site so that I can restore it onto a new computer if my current comuter dies, and I now have an external hard drive for this purpose.

Can anyone tell me what I need to do to correctly backup Actinic and if there are any other files I need to copy across?

At present all I do is select yes when the program asks me to backup on exit, but I have read elsewhere about site snapshots?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Angela

[pinbrook]

Each time you close Actinic you should take a "Snapshot" and store the resultant file in a separate place ie CD, 2nd PC, external hard disk.

Additionally, to be even safer, zip up a copy of site1, again copy this to a secure 2nd location (CD, external hard drive).

Remember if your PC goes bad you can not restore Actinic from the webserver. You must have a copy of site1 or a snapshot.

[fleetwood]

Jo
Our site is quite large (10,000+ products and pics), so even snapshots take quite a time to create. We really don't need all 10,000 image files backed up every time.
On the assumption that templates and .pl files are not changed from session to session, does a simple copy of the ActinicCatalog database contain all that is necessary to restore after a crash, assuming you have a recent Site1 copy as a starting point, or is there more to it than that?
ie copy Site1 directoryand/or snapshot periodically, to protect templates and .pl files and image files, but only back up the database nightly.

Martin

[Duncan Allan]

Would your server be backed up over night and there would be in the files of your host or your own server backups? At least from somewhere it could be recovered - albeit at some fee maybe.

Has anyone written a script to run a scheduled snapshot backup?

Duncan

[Duncan Rounding]

Apart from the normal manual backups mentioned I have NTBackup set to do an incremental backup of the site1 folder to an external drive, scheduled to run at night - which is very quick.

[Mike Hughes]

And remember to copy and paste the security keys from 'Housekeeping > Security' into a file somewhere safe. Without these you cannot access any orders on the website.

Mike

[pinbrook]

Martin -

in your case i would look at using an xcopy command to copy site1 excluding images to your chosen location.

if you don't want to use xcopy then something like SecondCopy could be useful.

I prefer to set backups off and walk away from the PC. ( I try not to glue myself to my PC for 24 hours a day). I also prefer fullbackups rather than incremental (call it laziness - it saves time when looking to restore.)

[SusanF]

Could someone tell me the difference between the snapshot backup and copying the Site1? Is it that the snapshot doesn't back up all the image files?

Thanks,

[Duncan Allan]

If you back it up straight Susan then you get a full size back up (drag and drop), unless you use compression within another back up programme.

The Snapshot from Actinic creates a highly compressed file but can only be used by importing and exporting them.

Duncan

[pinbrook]

a snapshot is the easiest solution as you export a snapshot to create a backup and then you import it to restore.

Taking a copy of site1 is a more manual method, which allows you to pick and choose which files to restore.

I use both methods all the time. If i am sending a copy of a site to a client I will send a snapshot, as it is easier for the client to restore. But for my own backups I copy site1 (this is because my backup routines take copies of files)

In the olddays the snapshot was not terribly reliable, this is why some of us old stagers prefer to copy Site1 for personal copies.

Shapshot is much better nowadays.

I always prefer to have several backups on different media to ensure that I always have something to restore from in the event of all the chips being down.

Martin- I didn't answer your question properly.

In my opinion if you copy site1, then the minimum you require is

common folder
commonoccfolder
shippingfolder

all files with the following extensions
bmp
ini
ACT_xxx html
gif/jpg that go with your theme
txt
mdb

files which are created by actinic are
fil
pl
pm
cat
sitehtml folder
preview folder

additionally copy pl/pm files if you have customised them (otherwise originals can be copyied from the original folder)

I think thats it, maybe someone else could add corrections, and I will amend to make this post correct.

[wjcampbe]

Jo,

I will add - custom 404.html file and p3p policy files to that list. Also, if you do downloads then a copy of every downloadable file should go into the backup.

[fleetwood]

Thanks Jo and Bill
Could I just try and simplify things a little, and maybe explain myself a bit better.
What I really want to do is split the backup routine between those files that change EVERY time I use Actinic (by use, I mean upload catalog and download orders, as opposed to changing any design features), and those that only change if I make a change to templates and/or program files.

The idea is to create a manageable backup routine, whilst still allowing a full restore if anything goes wrong.

I regularly (every 2-4 weeks) take a full back up of the complete Site1 and store offsite on a rolling set of backup media, which protects site, security keys, templates etc. I am also of the old school that prefers at least one full copy of all my seperate files, rather than everyting compressed and/or incremental backups.

What I am after is what backup set I need to form part of my daily back ups.

So, if I needed to restore, I could simply copy back the latest Site1 folder I had backed up, and then restore the daily files (which would need to cover customer orders and the stock catalog) from the latest daily backup.
Take it as read that if I were to change templates, I would make a new Site1 backup, or at very least a copy of the changed template offsite.

Surely I don't need all the files that you have listed for a daily backup do I Jo? (and sorry for calling you 'surely' ).

For example, aren't these files fairly static if no changes are being made to the store design:

bmp
ini
ACT_xxx html
gif/jpg that go with your theme
txt

I'm sure there are more that don't change on every use of the store.

Can you simplify the list at all, into what changes each use, and what only changes if you moidify design features, that would be most heplful - or if this information has been published in a help file, then please point me in that direction. It would be useful to know what the different files types do (fl, pl,pm etc) and what changes.

Three years in a I feel like a newbie all over again .

And on 'p3p policy files' - I think I'm supposed to have one - but don't know what it is (gulp) - is it provided as part of the software, or is this something I have to obtain/create myself - and what is it??

Martin (feeling a bit stupid after 300+ posts, and asking what maybe fairly basic questions!)

[chris ashdown]

Martin

I have just signed up to BTCONNECT Datasure system where the software runs a daily backup onto their computers, This is a incremental update i.e. it only records the changes after the initial backup, and not the whole thing and runs automatically for whatever time and days you specify, and other programs can be run at the same time

Initial backup takes some time but others are only a few minutes

Only a few quid a month and gives total piece of mind

May be worth considering

[pinbrook]

Ok rather than directly answer your question I'm going to tell you what I do, as I feel that by trying to ensure you both include and exclude files you are in fact making the task more onerous than it needs to be.

I have a neat piece of software called Second Copy (it cost me about $30) This software is probably nothing more that a GUI of XCOPY or some other DOS command, but by being graphical I don't have to remember all the switches. When I am working in my office second copy runsin the background and automatically backs up all changes I've made to designated folders every 2 hours. I can choose whether to compress to the target copy, add to target, or syncronise target and original. I copy to both a 2nd networked PC and an external HD. Thus giving me 3 copies at all times.

You could use Second Copy and create a profile that copies all changed files at a given time frequency. Thus you will get a copy of changes files only, you can choose to leave the copy as uncompressed.

There are all kinds of options within SecondCopy that allow you to choose whether to keep adding files to your target copy/backup, or whether to replace them.

This could work quite well as you will have your master copy of site1, and you will have your designated changed files.

The main advantage of Secondcopy is that you don't have to compress, and you can backup at chosen frequencies to different media. It runs in the background on my Pc so it just kicks itself off. It won't copy if Actinic is open, but this doesn't really matter if you do as I do, and ask it to backup every couple of hours, it will make your required copy once your have finished working as long as you leave the PC turned on.

At the mo, I am away from the office, so I copy from my laptop to my external HD using SecondCopy. But in order to get my 3rd copy I copy a snapshot to my webspace. Maybe one day Actinic will allow us to create a snapshot without product images, so for sites with loads of images or digital downloads copying a snapshot to webspace is a quick and easy process also.

i hope this helps... rather than confuse.

[fleetwood]

Thanks Jo (and all the other answers), and apologies to Angela for hijacking the thread

Martin