Link Search Menu Expand Document

Backup

The certdog architecture means that the majority of data is stored within the database with very few static configuration options stored outside of this

Database

This is the main area for backup

The database should be backed up regularly

Essentially the database files are stored here :

[certdog installation]\mongodb\dbfiles

And it is these files that must regularly be backed up

If the server’s files system (where certdog is running) is also backed up, ensure this folder is included in that backup


Manual Backup

  • Open the Services snapin, and locate the Krestfield Certdog Database service

  • Stop the service

  • Take a copy of the folder located here:

​ [certdog installation]\mongodb\dbfiles

​ and save to a backup location

  • Start the service


Manual Restore

  • Open the Services snapin, and locate the Krestfield Certdog Database service

  • Stop the service

  • Move the following folder to a backup location (in case you need to revert back):

​ [certdog installation]\mongodb\dbfiles

  • Copy the folder from the backup to [certdog installation]\mongodb\dbfiles
  • Start the service


This will restore the database to the state when the backup was taken and overwrite any changes that would have been made since then. A more granular approach can achieved using the mongodump and mongorestore tools…


Using mongodump and mongorestore

You may download and install the mongodb Database Tools as per this guide

Then use the mongodump and mongorestore tools to backup and restore

There is no need to stop the database when running either of these commands

Refer to the mongodb documentation for full details, but the certdog database may be backed up by using a command such as the following:

mongodump --db certman --username certmanuser --password [db password] --archive=c:\dbbackups\bk1.zip --gzip --ssl --tlsInsecure

The --db certman and --username certmanuser options are the default values for the database. The password for certmanuser can be obtained from your .\config\application.properties file

In this example, the entire database contents will be stored to the bk1.zip file which is zipped due to the --gzip switch (leave out the --gzip switch to prevent compression)

Note that if the command is run again with the same archive name - the previous archive will be overwritten. Hence, to retain multiple copies, use unique names

In production TLS is used to secure the link to the database, if using the free version of certdog you should omit the --ssl --tlsInsecure switches e.g.

mongodump --db certman --username certmanuser --password [db password] --archive=c:\dbbackups\bk1.zip --gzip


To restore, the mongorestore command is used. As for mongodump, there are many options but two approaches are discussed here:

  • Restore only deleted items
    • This will leave new and changed records in place but will import records that have been deleted since the backup was taken
    • This option would be useful if CAs, Key Stores or Certificates had been inadvertently deleted
  • Restore the entire database and overwrite
    • This option drops the database and recovers from the backup
    • This option is useful if you wish to revert back to the database at the point the backup was taken. New and changed items will be removed and reverted to their state at the backup point


To restore only deleted items a command such as the following may be used:

mongorestore --db certman --username certmanuser --password [db password] --gzip --archive=c:\dbbackups\bk1.zip --ssl --tlsInsecure

For the free version the TLS options may be omitted e.g.

mongorestore --db certman --username certmanuser --password [db password] --gzip --archive=c:\dbbackups\bk1.zip


To restore the entire database and overwrite:

mongorestore --db certman --username certmanuser --password [db password] --gzip --archive=c:\dbbackups\bk1.zip --ssl --tlsInsecure --drop

I.e. the --drop switch has been added


Application Configuration

Within your certdog installation, there is a folder named

[certdog installation]\config

This folder contains some static configuration data (such as the database URL to use) and some TLS certificates

You should backup this folder but these settings will change infrequently and so only need backing up after initial setup and whenever a change is made (to the application TLS certificates or database location)

If you carry out a machine or image backup, ensure this folder is included in that backup


Logs

Logs that are written to the database will be backed up with the database

However, there are also the following file logs:

log4j2 Logs

If the log4j2 default settings are in use, then the following folder will contain text based logs

[certdog installation]\logs

This will contain a current file log named certdog.log as well as folders containing the previous days archived logs

The majority of the entries in these logs are duplicates of the database logs. These logs will contain additional information (such as debug or low-level output not written to the database)

All events are always stored to the database


Container Logs

The host container (Tomcat) also produces log files. By default these will be located here:

[certdog installation]\tomcat\logs

These logs contain debug or system level entries relevant to the container


If any snapshot or system level backup is already being performed, this location should be included in those backups. Otherwise, if these logs also need to be retained ensure these locations are included in your backup plan