Backup and restore Devolutions Server

The following topic describes the requirements and the step to properly configure the Devolutions Server Backup Scheduler and instructions on how to restore your Devolutions Server instance succeeding a disaster.

Check the backup of the SQL database and the web application folder integrity by restoring them in a staging environment.

Backup configuration

  1. Install the DevolutionsSchedulerService with the Install Scheduler button of the Devolutions Server Console it is not already installed. For more information please see Devolutions Server Console.
    Install Scheduler
    Install Scheduler
  2. Create a domain service account that will be used to run the service.
    Create a domain service
    Create a domain service
  3. This service account must have proper permission on the destinations folder(s) to create files and needs at least the db_datareader and db_backupoperator rights on the SQL database.
    Login Properties
    Login Properties
  4. Create a network folder, it can be one for the database backup and one for the web application backup, that both the server which hosted the Devolutions Server instance and the SQL Server will have access to.
  5. Configure the options in the Backup Manager. For more information please see Backup Manager.
  6. In the following sample:
    • The database backup is enabled and will be saved in folder TeamShare\BackupDVLS\DB on DC machine.
    • The web backup is enabled and will be saved in folder TeamShare\BackupDVLS\Web on DC machine.
    • The administrators will be notified on backup failed.
    • The administrators will be notified on backup success.
      Backup configuration
      Backup configuration
    • The scheduled backup has been started on November 13, 2018, at 5:43 AM.
    • The scheduler will repeat the backup process every day.
      Scheduled backup
      Scheduled backup

Recovery Kit

When you create your Devolutions Server instance you will be promoted to create a Recovery Kit, which you will need in the event that you no longer have access to Devolutions Server, or for a load balancing topology. The Recovery Kit is a ZIP folder generated by the Devolutions Server Console, which contains the encryption keys and a response file (which can be used to re-install Devolutions Server with the same specifications as the initial install).

We recommend to protect the Recovery Kit file in a safe to avoid data loss if Devolutions Server has to be restored.

To generate the Recovery Kit, go to the ribbon and click ToolsGenerate.

Tools – Generate
Tools – Generate

To generate the Recovery Kit, select Location and Export path. If the Include sensitive data option is enabled, the SQL authentication credentials will be included in the Recovery Kit. Enter the password protecting the Encryption Keys.

Generate Recovery Kit
Generate Recovery Kit

Click OK to close the window and generate the Recovery Kit.

Restore steps

The following instructions explain how to restore the Devolutions Server environment. The first part explains the restore process on an existing installation and the second part details the steps to restore Devolutions Server on new machines.

Ensure that all prerequisites are installed on the machine where the Devolutions Server instance is hosted. For more information please see Installing Web Roles prerequisites.

If the Devolutions Server deployment is hosted in a Load Balancing or High Availability topology, please see Manage Encryption Keys.

Be sure that the database and the web application match before launching the restore process or this could lead to unwanted behavior.

  1. If the restore process goal is to overwrite the current installation:
    1. Ensure that the instance users have the offline mode enabled and they are not making any modifications.
    2. Ensure that the DevolutionsSchedulerService service is not running.
      DevolutionsSchedulerService
      DevolutionsSchedulerService
    3. Restore the SQL database.
    4. Overwrite the web application folder with the content of the web application .zip file.
    5. Start the DevolutionsSchedulerService service and ensure that the Startup type is set to Automatic.
      Startup type
      Startup type
    6. Reconfigure the Backup Scheduler feature.
  2. If the goal is to restore Devolutions Server and the SQL database on new servers:
    1. Restore the SQL database on the new server.
    2. Fix every SQL login account that has been used to connect on the database from.
    3. Follow instructions in Create Devolutions Server instance.
    4. Overwrite the web application folder with the content of the web application .zip file.
    5. Reconfigure the Backup Scheduler feature.
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