AppLogic23 Web
AppLogic 2.3 Beta Documentation The latest production release is AppLogic 2.4.7BCK: Backup Enabler
Latest version: 1.1.2  | At a Glance | |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog | Dynamic | |
| Category | Backup | |
| User volumes | yes | |
| Min. memory | 192 MB | |
| OS | Linux | |
| Constraints | no | |
| Questions/Comments | Ask Forum | |
Functional Overview
BCK enables the containing application to backup or restore a copy of itself using Amazon Simple Storage Services (S3), Nirvanix, Layerd Technologies DynaVol, ftp, or sftp. These operations can be initiated through a simple web interface (GUI) exposed by BCK and work in conjunction with the helper application BackupHelper. BCK may also be configured to automatically perform scheduled backups. Whenever the application is backed up, it is stopped and then re-started. The GUI is accessed using the application IP and the configured BCK port and supports the following application operations:- manually initiate a backup
- manually initiate a restore
- cancel a backup or restore in progress
- monitor a backup or restore in progress
- delete existing backups
- The initial release of BCK uses the _impex volume to export and import applications for backup and restore. Therefore, the size of the exported application may not exceed the available space on the _impex volume.
Boundary
Resources
| Resource | Minimum | Maximum | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.15 |
| Memory | 192 MB | 192 MB | 192 MB |
| Bandwidth | 2 Mbps | 2 Mbps | 2 Mbps |
Terminals
| name | dir | prot. | description |
|---|---|---|---|
in | in | any | Exposes a web interface (GUI) for backup and restore. All other network traffic not directed to the GUI is passed-through aux without modification. |
net | out | any | Output for accessing the grid in order to facilitate application backup and restore. |
aux | out | any | Auxiliary output. Incoming traffic that is not directed to the GUI is sent through this terminal without modification. This terminal can be left unconnected. |
mon | out | cce | Used for performance and resource usage statistics. |
User Volumes
| Volume | Description |
|---|---|
config | Read-write volume for configuration data. |
config volume.
Properties
Properties in the table below configure BCK for use with a specific service.| name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
backup_service | string | S3, DynaVol_ftp, DynaVol_sftp, ftp, or sftp. Default: S3 S3 - remote storage using the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3). Nirvanix - remote storage using Nirvanix. DynaVol_ftp - remote storage using Layered Technologies DynaVol and the ftp protocol. DynaVol_sftp - remote storage using Layered Technologies DynaVol and the sftp protocol. ftp - remote storage using ftp. sftp - remote storage using sftp. |
backup_service_ip | IP | IP address of the remote storage service. Default: empty This property is mandatory for all services except S3 and Nirvanix. |
backup_user_id | string | User-name or signature used to access the remote storage service. Default: empty For S3 this is the user Access Key ID. For Nirvanix this is the account username. For DynaVol_ftp, DynaVol_sftp, ftp and sftp this is the name of the user account. This property is mandatory. |
backup_user_auth | string | User password or authentication string used to access the remote storage service. Default: empty For S3 this is the user Secret Access Key. For Nirvanix this is the account password. For DynaVol_ftp and ftp this is the password of the user account. For DynaVol_sftp and sftp, BCK uses a file sftp.private.key in the root of the config volume for key based sftp authentication . sftp password based authentication is not currently supported. This property is mandatory for S3, DynaVol_ftp and ftp. |
backup_app_key | string | For Nirvanix this is the application key. This property is not required for other backup services. Default: empty |
backup_app_name | string | For Nirvanix this is the application name. This property is not required for other backup services. Default: empty |
backup_container_id | string | Identifier of the container on the remote storage service used to hold backups. Default: empty For S3 this is the name of a bucket. BCK attemts to create this bucket if it does not already exist. Note that the S3 bucket name space is shared among all S3 users. If this bucket name exists but belongs to a different user, BCK fails and logs a message to the Applogic Dashboard. Valid characters are A-Z a-z 0-9 _-.For Nirvanix this is the folder name under the application in which backups are stored. BCK creates this folder if it does not already exist.For DynaVol_ftp, DynaVol_sftp, ftp and sftp this is the path from the home directory of the user user_id to the folder under which backups are stored, e.g. backups/applications. BCK attempts to create this folder if it does not already exist. This property is mandatory. |
| name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
schedule_period | string | none, daily, weekly, monthly. Default: none none - no periodic backups. Backups can still be made manually.daily - a backup is made automatically each day. weekly - a backup is made automatically each week. monthly - a backup is made automatically each month. |
schedule_day | integer | 1-28. Default: 1 For weekly backups numbers 1-7 correspond to Monday through Sunday. Numbers greater than 7 also indicate Sunday. For monthly backups numbers 1-28 indicate the day of the month. |
schedule_time | string | Time of day to perform a scheduled backup in the format hour(0-23):minute(0-59). Default: 0:0 |
schedule_retain | integer | Number of backups to retain. After a new backup is created, existing backups above this number are deleted (oldest first). Default: 3 A value of 0 causes all backups to be retained. |
| name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
gui_ip | IP | IP address of the containing application used to access the GUI. Default: empty This property is mandatory. |
gui_port_no | integer | Port for accessing the web interface. The GUI is accessed through gui_ip and this port. Default: 8080. |
gui_username | string | User-name for web-based authentication. If empty, no authentication is performed. Default: empty |
gui_password | string | Password for web-based authentication. This property is not used if gui_username is empty. Default: empty |
grid_ip1 and grid_ip2 are available application IP's that are reserved for use by BCK.
| name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
grid_ctl_ip | IP | IP address of the grid controller on which the application is running. Default: empty This property is mandatory. |
grid_ip1 | IP | Available IP address for use during backup and restore. Defaullt: empty This property is mandatory. |
grid_ip2 | IP | Available IP address for use during backup and restore. Default: empty This property is mandatory. |
grid_netmask | IP | Netmask for the grid on which the application is running. Default: 255.255.255.0 |
grid_gateway | IP | Address of IP gateway used to route traffic. This property must be specified in order to provide access to hosts outside of the IP network on which the application is running. Default: empty This property is mandatory. |
grid_dns1 | IP | Primary DNS server for the grid. Default: empty This property is mandatory. |
grid_dns2 | IP | Secondary DNS server for the grid. Default: empty This property is optional. |
Performance
Additional resources do not affect performance.Error Messages
The following messages may appear in either the appliance log file or the system log of the grid controller when the appliance fails to start:- httpd did not start
- /var/www/html/.rc.local script is not executable
- /var/www/html/.rc.local script failed, ret=ret
Web Interface (GUI)
BCK exposes a web interface which can be used to manually backup or restore the containing application, or manually delete existing backups. This GUI is accessed using the application IP on the configured portgui_port_no.
Above is an example of the GUI progress monitor during backup. This page contains two monitors:
- The Application Monitor tracks:
- Provisioning an instance of BackupHelper
- Stopping BackupHelper upon completion
- Destroying BackupHelper
- The BackupHelper Monitor tracks:
- Stopping the application
- Exporting the application to the _impex volume
- Re-starting the application
- Copying the export files from _impex to a BackupHelper volume
- Deleting files from _impex
- Creating a single tar archive of the application
- Splitting this archive into 1 GB pieces
- Copying these pieces to the remote service
- Pruning backups from the remote service according to the
schedule_retainproperty
Above is an example of the GUI progress monitor during restore. This page contains two monitors:
- The Application Monitor tracks:
- Provisioning an instance of BackupHelper
- Stopping BackupHelper upon completion
- Destroying BackupHelper
- The BackupHelper Monitor tracks:
- Copying backup pieces from the remote service
- Joining these pieces to form a tar archive
- Un-tarring the archive
- Copying the resulting files to the _impex volume
- Importing the application from the _impex volume
- Deleting files from _impex
Preparing For Backup & Restore
These steps must be taken before BCK can be used to backup or restore an application. A step-by-step example is provided here.- Connect the BCK appliance to an existing application - see Typical Usage below.
- BCK must be able to authenticate on the grid controller as a normal user. To ensure this, create a public/private key pair in openssh format without a passphrase. Create a user on the grid whose public key corresponds to the generated public key. Put the generated private key file, with the name
grid.private.key, on the root of theconfigvolume of the appliance with owner and groupnobodyand mode600.
- If the
backup_serviceissftp, create a public/private key pair in openssh format without a passphrase. Put the generated private key file, with the namesftp.private.key, on the root of theconfigvolume of the appliance with owner and groupnobodyand mode600. Include the public key in the authorized_keys file of the userbackup_user_idon the remote host.
Typical Usage
LampX4
The diagram below shows how BCK can be connected to the LampX4 reference application. The INSSL gateway properties are set to forward tcp traffic on port 8080 to theaux terminal. Pointing a browser at port 8080 of the application IP or resolvable domain name brings up the web interface for BCK.
Note: the BCK applicance should not be connected directly between an IN gateway and the rest of the application, but rather to the aux terminal of an INSSL gateway.
A step-by-step example for setting up the LampX4 use case is provided here.
Notes and Links
Notes
- It is good practice to set the
gui_usernameandgui_passwordproperties of BCK to prevent unauthorized users from performing backup or restore. - The exported application must fit on the _impex volume.
- The cancel operation is only available when both the application and the BackupHelper are running.
- Backups are split into 1GB pieces for storing on the remote service.
- BCK will fail to access S3 if the server time is off by more than 15 minutes.
Related Documents
Questions and Comments
To post a question about this appliance, visit our forum.
-- StephenQ - 23 Oct 2007
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