Password Manager Pro | Password Management Solution

Database Backup

Data stored in PMP database are of critical importance and in any production environment, there would be constant requirements for backing up the data for reference purposes or for disaster recovery. To achieve this, PMP provides two features:

Live Backup of PMP database
Scheduled Backup

Live Backup

Whenever there happens an addition or modification of the entries in the PMP database, the data gets immediately backedup. PMP achieves this live backup by leveraging the database replication feature offered by MySQL.

A live 'slave' database could be configured in a remote location and it will get instantaneously updated whenever the 'master' database running with PMP undergoes a change. At any point of time, the data in both the databases will be in synchronization with each other. In the unlikely event of any disaster to the primary database, you can rely on the slave database and recover the data.

To enable Live Backup,

Prerequisite

After installation, the PMP server should have been started and stopped at least once
If PMP server is already running, stop it before proceeding further

Step 1: Setup master and slave databases

Go to <PMP_Home>/bin directory and run the script replicationPack.bat (in Windows) / replicationPack.sh (in Linux)
This will create a new directory named 'replication' under <PMP_Home> and a replication package in the form a zip file will be created under <PMP_Home>/replication folder. This zip with the name "Replication.zip" contains the slave database package
Move the zip file from <PMP_Home>/replication folder to the remote location where you wish to keep the slave database for live backup
Unzip the zip file in the remote machine
The slave database is now setup
The database that is bundled with PMP acts as the master database. No separate setup is required for that

Step 2: Start master and slave databases

Now, come back to the machine where PMP is running. Navigate to <PMP_Home>/bin directory and run the script startDB.bat <MySQL Port> (Windows) / startDB.sh <MySQL Port> (Linux)

For example, with the default the MySQL port 2345, you need to execute this as:

startDB.bat 2345 (For Windows)

startDB.sh 2345 (For Linux)

Again go to the remote machine and navigate to the <MySQL>/bin folder and run the script startSlaveDB.bat (Windows) / startSlaveDB.sh (Linux)

Step 3: Start PMP server

Start the PMP server
Live Backup setup is ready now. Whenever there happens a change in the master database, which runs with PMP, the same will be immediately updated to the slave database

Verify Live Backup Setup

After carrying out the above steps, you can verify if the Live Backup setup is working properly by looking at the message in "Admin >> General >> Database Backup" page. If the setup is proper, you will see the following:

Connection Status: Alive and Live Backup is in progress now

Slave database is running in host: <Host Name>

Recovering data from slave when master database crashes

In the rare event of master database crash, you can recover data from the slave database.

To recover the data,

In the remote machine where slave DB is running, navigate to <MySQL>/data folder and create a zip of the following:

"passtrix" directory
"ibdata1" file

Copy the zip created as above

Go to the machine where PMP was running

Get a fresh PMP installation in the machine where the master database was running

Navigate to <PMP_Home>/mysql/data folder and unzip the zip created from the slave database. Once you do this, the data is safely recovered in the new PMP version

Now, start the PMP server

Note: Once you recover the data from the slave and give life to the master database, the slave database will no longer be valid. Just delete the mysql folder in the remote machine. If you want to have the Live Backup enabled again, you need to follow the steps once again.

Scheduled Backup

You can schedule database backup to be executed at any specific point of time.

To schedule database backup,

Go to "Admin" tab
Click "Database Backup" icon under "General" section

In the UI that opens up,

Select the schedule option - day, weekly or monthly.

To schedule backup in specific day(s) interval,

If your requirement is to backup the database contents in specific day intervals - say, once in three days, this option would come in handy. You can choose any interval between 1 and 28 and also specify the time at which backup has to be taken.
To enable this option, click the radio button "Day"
Select the day interval
Select the time at which backup has to be taken
Backed up data are stored as a .zip file under <PMP_Home>/backUp directory by default. If you want, you can specify the destination directory where you wish to store the backedup contents.
Every time backup is executed, one backup file will be created. You can specify the maximum number of such backup files to be kept in this directory. For example, if you choose "10" in the drop-down against the field "Maintain latest --- backups only", only the latest 10 backup files would be kept under this directory
Click "Save". The required backup schedule is created

Where does the backup data get stored? Is it encrypted?

All sensitive data in the backup file are stored in encrypted form in a .zip file under <PMP_Home/backUp> directory or under the directory specified by you. It is recommended that you backup this file in your secure, secondary storage for disaster recovery.

What is the best option for database backup schedule?

Database backup operation is both time and resource consuming. Hence, it is recommended to schedule it to run during off-peak traffic timings. While the operation is in progress, no configuration change could be performed in PMP.

Can I replicate the data to another server and have the permissions stay intact?

Yes. PMP application is stateless and all the data are stored in the database and just replicating the database against a fresh installation of the application gets you all the data intact.

To schedule backup on a specific day every week,

If your requirement is to backup the database contents on a specific day every week - say, on Mondays, this option would come in handy. You can choose any day from Sunday to Saturday and also specify the time at which backup has to be taken. To enable this option,
click the radio button "Weekly"
select the day of the week
select the time at which backup has to be taken
Backed up data are stored as a .zip file under <PMP_Home>/backUp directory by default. If you want, you can specify the destination directory where you wish to store the backedup contents.
Every time backup is executed, one backup file will be created. You can specify the maximum number of such backup files to be kept in this directory. For example, if you choose "10" in the drop-down against the field "Maintain latest --- backups only", only the latest 10 backup files would be kept under this directory
Click "Save". The required backup schedule is created

To schedule backup on a specific day every month,

If your requirement is to backup the database contents on a specific date every month - say, on 13th, this option would come in handy. You can choose any date from 1st to 31st and also specify the time at which backup has to be taken. To enable this option,
Click the radio button "Monthly"
Select the date of the month
Select the time at which backup has to be taken
Backed up data are stored as a .zip file under <PMP_Home>/backUp directory by default. If you want, you can specify the destination directory where you wish to store the backedup contents.
Everytime backup is executed, one backup file will be created. You can specify the maximum number of such backup files to be kept in this directory. For example, if you choose "10" in the drop-down against the field "Maintain latest --- backups only", only the latest 10 backup files would be kept under this directory
Click "Save". The required backup schedule is created