Content provided by Vaiyavi V 

Picture Courtesy  : PacGenesis, is an IBM Platinum Business Partner focusing on intelligent, scalable data transfer and workflow solutions for today's business needs.

IBM Aspera  Data Backup and Restoring

In today's data-driven world, the importance of robust backup solutions cannot be overstated. Whether you're a small business owner, a large enterprise, or an individual managing critical data, ensuring its safety and accessibility is paramount.

IBM Aspera Shares

Aspera Shares is a web-based file-sharing and collaboration platform developed by IBM. Renowned for its high-speed data transfer capabilities, Aspera Shares excels in facilitating the rapid exchange of large files and datasets across various locations, making it an ideal choice for organizations with demanding data transfer needs.

Implementing backup in IBM Aspera Shares involves configuring the platform to replicate critical data to designated storage repositories efficiently and securely. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you implement backup in IBM Aspera Shares effectively:

Steps to Backup the storage

There are two methods for restoring a backup: one involves creating a dump and saving it as a directory without specifying the database, while the other entails specifying the specific database and backing up only that data.

Perform a MySQL database dump to create a backup of the local database:

1. Specifying the database name:
   /opt/aspera/shares/bin/run mysqldump -h 127.0.0.1 -P 4406 -u root
   -p <database_name> > ~/<backupdir_name> 
   Eg: /opt/aspera/shares/bin/run mysqldump -h 127.0.0.1 -P 4406 -u root -p shares > ~/shares_dump.sql 
   or
2. Not specifying the database name: 
   /opt/aspera/shares/u/setup/bin/backup /backup_dir

Steps to Restore the Backup

1. Specifying the database name:
   /opt/aspera/shares/bin/run mysql -u root –p shares /tmp/orchestrator_db_backup_timestamp.sql
2. Not specifying the database name:
   /opt/aspera/shares/u/setup/bin/restore /your_backup_dir/backup_id

Restart the shares and Stats_collector service

service aspera-shares restart
/opt/aspera/shares/sbin/sv start stats-collector

IBM Aspera Orchestrator

Aspera Orchestrator provides powerful workflow automation capabilities, allowing you to create customized workflows tailored to your organization's backup requirements.

Steps to Backup the storage

Source: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aspera-orchestrator/4.0?topic=dcm-migrating-data-from-current-orchestrator-instance-new-one

/opt/aspera/common/mysql/bin/mysqldump -h IP_address –u root –p orchestrator > /tmp/orchestrator_db_backup_timestamp.sql

Steps to Restore the Backup

/opt/aspera/shares/u/stats-collector/bin/aspera-stats-collector-init.sh admin regenerate-keys

IBM Aspera Console

Steps to Backup the storage

Source: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aspera-console/3.4?topic=linux-backing-up-console-database

There are two distinct methods for backing up the Console database:

1. Using the "asctl" command, which exclusively backs up the MySQL database. Employ this approach prior to a Console upgrade or to prevent potential database corruption.
   asctl -v console:backup_database
2. Utilizing the Console web UI, which not only backs up the MySQL database but also includes all necessary files to fully restore the Console application. This method is ideal for disaster recovery scenarios, such as when the entire server is lost and Console needs to be restored.

Steps in UI

1. Select Configuration > Database from the Console menu. Click Back Up.
2. Enter the desired path of the Console machine into the Save to field. This path is the destination folder for the console_full_backup_YYYY-MM-DD_hhmmss backup file.
3. Schedule the backup to Run Now or to Run Later.
   
   • Click Run now: Back up the database immediately.
   • Click Run later: Specify a time in the future or configure a repeating backup operation.
4. Click Back Up Now.

Steps to Restore the Backup

1. Stop Console.
   asctl console:stop
2. If you made a back up of the Console database with the asctl command, you can restore it with the following command:
   asctl -v console:restore_database /path/to/dir
   Eg: asctl -v console:restore_database /opt/aspera/console/backup/2013-1- 16_164305
3. If you made a back up of the Console database with the web UI, you can restore it with the following command:
   asctl -v console:restore /absolute/path/to/dir
   Eg: asctl -v console:restore /tmp/console_full_backup_2013- 116_00.57.28_UTC
4. Start Console.
   asctl console:start
   
   

IBM Aspera Faspex 4

Steps to Backup the storage

To safeguard against system failure, it's crucial to back up your IBM Aspera Faspex configuration and database. Follow these steps:

1. Access the Server Configuration in Faspex by navigating to Server > Configuration > Save/Restore.
2. Click the Download button to save your current Faspex database in *.tar.gz format.
   Note: If you're using Safari, ensure the option to open "safe" files after downloading is unchecked in the browser settings to avoid downloading the file as a .tar instead of .tar.gz, which could cause issues during restoration.
   or
   Back up your Faspex MySQL database by running the following asctl command:
   asctl faspex:backup_database
   The asctl command uses mysqldump to backup Faspex's three MySQL databases to /opt/aspera/faspex/backup/time_stamp- version_number.revision_number 
   For example, the directory name may be 2016-04-15_140547- Faspex.4.0.0.100400.
3. Back up the secret.yml file located at /opt/aspera/faspex/config/secret.yml. This file is essential for the correct functioning of restored Faspex with remote nodes.
4. Ensure you back up Faspex, Apache, and MySQL application files as follows:
   
   

   Faspex:

   Location: /opt/aspera/faspex/
   
   Files to Back Up:
   • faspex.rb.yml
   • config/*.yml
   • config/mongrel_cluster/mongrel_cluster.yml
   • config/aspera.faspex.*.aspera-license
   • lib/daemons/np/etc/keystore.jks
   
   

   Apache

   Location: /opt/aspera/faspex/ /opt/aspera/common/apache
   
   Files to Back Up:
   • apache.rb.yml
   • conf/*.key
   • conf/*.crt
   • conf/extra/httpd-ssl_template.conf
   • custom/
   
   

   MySQL

   Location: /opt/aspera/common/mysql
   
   Files to Back Up:
   • database.rb.yml
   
   
5. If SSL is configured for Faspex, ensure you also back up your SSL certificate files:
   Locate and copy the server.crt and server.key files to a separate location. These files can typically be found at: /opt/aspera/common/apache/conf/server.crt/opt/aspera/common/apache/conf/server.key
6. By following these steps, you'll have a comprehensive backup of your IBM Aspera Faspex configuration and database, ensuring you can restore it in case of system failure or set up Faspex on a new server.

Steps to restore the backup

This restoration process can also be applied to a new server where Faspex has been freshly installed. It's crucial to ensure that the version of Faspex being restored matches the one installed on the server.

To execute the restoration, you'll need the following files:

• Faspex MySQL database files
• The secret.yml file
• Faspex, Apache, and MySQL application files

Steps to restore Faspex

1. Copy the backup directory to the server and execute the following asctl command:
   asctl faspex:restore_database /path/to/backup_dir 
2. Set the Faspex hostname to match the current server's hostname using the following asctl command:
   asctl apache:hostname hostname 
3. Update the hostname or IP address in the faspex.yml file located at:
   /opt/aspera/faspex/config/faspex.yml 
   Adjust the 'Hostname' and 'BaseUrl' entries to reflect the new hostname or IP address.
4. Update the aspera.conf file with the new hostname by running the following asconfigurator command:
   asconfigurator -x "set_server_data;server_name,hostname" 
5. Create a node user on the server with the following command:
   asnodeadmin -a -u node_user -p password -x faspex
6. If SSL certificates and keys were backed up, copy them to the following locations on the server:
   /opt/aspera/common/apache/conf/server.crt
   /opt/aspera/common/apache/conf/server.key 
7. Copy the secret.yml file from your backup to:
   /opt/aspera/faspex/config/secret.yml
   Make sure to back up the original secret.yml file in the directory.
8. Restart Faspex:
   asctl faspex:restart
9. Modify the localhost configuration by launching Faspex from a browser and logging in using the Faspex admin account. Navigate to Server > File Storage, and edit the localhost node. In the Basic Configuration section, enter the username and password specified when creating the node admin user.
10. If issues persist, restart Aspera services by running the following commands:
    service asperacentral restart
    service asperanoded restart
    service asperahttpd restart

Why Wait? Please check out IBM Aspera