DataBackup

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DataBackup [ -l ]

DataBackup [ -i YES | NO ] [ -s YES | NO ] [ BACKUPNAME ]

DataBackup [ BACKUPNAME ]

AVAILABILITY

DESCRIPTION

The backups are performed as file copies to a target location.

Backups are defined in configuration files with the name DataBackup.BACKUPNAME.cfg in the etc/ directory.

A backup can consist of four phases:

PREPARE

execute a prepare script to ensure some pre-requirements are fulfilled to perform the backup prior to the location resolving of drives (as: (re)mapping the backup destination drive from network).

PRE-EXEC

execute a pre-exec script to stop something (as: stopping Microsoft Outlook) previous of the data backup.

BACKUP

copy data to an other drive (as: external USB drive). A backup consist of one or more backup sets.

POST-EXEC

start a post-exec script after the completion of the backup (as: starting Microsoft Outlook) to restart a previously stopped service again.

When the program is started it reads the configuration file, the backup specifications and searches for the drives specified. Depending on the environment the system is running in and if the drives are immediately found (see also the DRIVERETRIES setting), this phase can take some time. To indicate that the program is busy searching, a rotating bar is visible.

DataBackup uses robocopy internally to copy data. DataBackup aims to be a convenient interface to robocopy and adds some features to use it easily on a daily basis.

FEATURES

Features of DataBackup:

-

three different backup modes are supported: BACKUP, UPDATE_TARGET and SYNCHRONIZE. For a description of the backup modes, see databackup.bkp.cfg(4).

-

to support 'floating' drive letters, as when connecting USB drives to the computer, DataBackup is able to dynamically react on changed source- and destination drive letter assignments.

-

play a sound at the end of the backup.

-

shut down the system at the end of the backup, if desired.

-

check and compare source- with destination data sizes after backup.

-

configure the behaviour of DataBackup thru a configuration file.

-

forecasting of data backup duration.

-

dynamic configuration settings based on environment variables and date and time settings.

-

portable installation of the program by simply decompressing the distribution *.zip or *.exe file.

-

re-packing of an installation to a distributable *.zip and *.exe package file.

-

documentation of the commands and files of the WA2L/SimpleBackup package as HTML- and PDF- files.

-

create a report for the backup containing the history and data volume development over time.

-

non-interactive mode for scheduling purposes.

Most important features of robocopy (which is used internally by DataBackup to actually copy the data):

-

very robust file copying.

-

easy to read output and logfile.

-

can handle long path/file names.

-

retry function of open files.

-

very fast.

OPTIONS

-h

usage message.

-V

print program version.

-l

list all available backup definitions that can be specified as BACKUPNAME.

-i YES | NO

execute in interactive mode.

Hint: this option has replaced the legacy -e option. However, to continue to support already defined jobs using the -e option it is and will still be accepted.

This option has preference over the setting INTERACTIVE in the etc/databackup.BACKUPNAME.cfg backup configuration file. If this option is not used, the settings in the configuration file apply.

-s YES | NO

shut down after backup execution.

This option has preference over the setting AUTOSHUTDOWN in the etc/databackup.BACKUPNAME.cfg configuration files. If this option is not used, the settings in the configuration file apply.

BACKUPNAME

name of a backup. If no BACKUPNAME is specified, the backup with the name DEFAULT is loaded when present.

A backup is represented by a configuration file having the name DataBackup.BACKUPNAME.cfg in the etc/ directory containing the backup definitions and additional settings as desired.

ENVIRONMENT

%COMPUTERNAME%, %USERNAME%, %USERDOMAIN%, %TEMP% and %TMP%.

The following time and date related variables can also be used:

%TIMER%, %TODAY%, %TODAYMIL%, %NOW%, %YEAR%, %LASTYEAR%, %MONTH%, %DAY%, %HOUR%, %MIN%, %SEC%, %SEMESTER%, %TRIMESTER%, %QUARTER%, %YDAY% and %WEEK%.

The following special variables are also available:

%BACKUPNAME%, %INSTALLDIR%, %SOURCE_DRIVE%.

Please note that all variables always are specified in upper case.

For a detail description of the variables, see: databackup.bkp.cfg(4) and for a quick overview of all settings and variables, see the "Configuration Cheat Sheet for DataBackup": databackup.config(4).

EXIT STATUS

0

no error.

1

backup start aborted.

2

TEMPLATE was specified as BACKUPNAME.

3

backup definition file DataBackup.BACKUPNAME.cfg does not exist.

4

usage displayed.

5

version printed.

6

available backup definitions listed.

FILES

etc/DataBackup.cfg

configuration file of DataBackup. This file holds settings valid for all backups See databackup.cfg(4) for more information.

etc/DataBackup.<BACKUPNAME>.cfg

backup definition file. In this file a backup is defined. See databackup.bkp.cfg(4) for more information.

var/exec/

location of prepare, pre- and post-exec *.cmd scripts.

var/log/DataBackup.log

master log file of DataBackup.

var/log/DataBackup.<TIMESTAMP>.<BACKUPNAME>.log

log file of a backup session with the name BACKUPNAME as specified on the command line.

var/rpt/DataBackup.<TIMESTAMP>.<BACKUPNAME>.LogEssentials.txt

report to provide the most important/key/essential information of a DataBackup.<TIMESTAMP>.<BACKUPNAME>.log log file.

var/report/

output directory of backup reports.

var/report/index.html

index of all backup reports in var/report/.

var/sounds/

location of the finish sounds as specified in the FINISHSOUND=title setting in the DataBackup.BACKUPNAME.cfg file.

var/state/

this directory contains persistent statistics information.

var/state/DataBackup.<BACKUPNAME>.stats

statistics information of the backup with the name BACKUPNAME.

var/state/DataBackup.<BACKUPNAME>.size.csv

record of number of backuped files and destination sizes of all executed backup sets in CSV format.

var/tmp/

temporary files.

var/db/databackup/DataBackup.<BACKUPNAME>.<BACKUPSET_NUMBER>.<KEY>.<src|dst>.bkpdb

compressed (gzip) database (=list) of backuped files.

EXAMPLES

SEE ALSO

NOTES

System Scheduler

by splinterware software solutions (http://www.splinterware.com/products/scheduler.html).

System Scheduler is also bundled with the WA2L/WinTools package from the same author as WA2L/SimpleBackup which can be downloaded from https://sourceforge.net/projects/wa2l-wintools/ that provides the identical installation, updating and configuration methods as this package.

BUGS

1) Side-by-side configuration incorrect

On some systems you might receive the following error message:

  WA2LSimpleBackup\lib\caffeine.exe

  The application has failed to start because its
  side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please
  see  the  application  event  log  or  use  the
  command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail.

Fix:

Download and install the 'Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)' from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29

For more information see: http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/support/kb.pl?q=00085.

2) Data volume comparison (excluded files)

The data backup volume comparison currently does not handle (subtract) excluded files defined in EXCLUDE_FILES from the volumes.

However, excluded directories using EXCLUDE_DIRS are handled and properly subtracted.

AUTHOR

COPYRIGHT

This is free software; see WA2LSimpleBackup/man/COPYING for copying conditions. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.