Scheduling Backups

You can schedule events to automate the process of backing up the system database to an external FTP or SFTP server. Use the External FTP Server form to set up a connection to the server.

Conditions

NOTE: If System Data Synchronization is enabled, resolve all pending updates and errors prior to the scheduled backup event.

Operation

To schedule backup events, refer to the following procedures:

Add a Backup Event (Local System)

To create a backup event for the local system:

  1. Go to the Scheduler form.

  2. Use the screen tools (arrows and mini-calendar) to locate the day you wish to update.

  3. Select the day and click Add Event.

  4. Click the Event Parameters tab and complete the following fields:

  5. Title: Type a title for the event. The title can contain up to 255 alphanumeric characters.

  6. Start Date: Use the dialog box to select the Month, Day, and Year that the event is scheduled to start.

  7. Time: Use the dialog box to select the Hour, AM/PM, and Minute that the event is scheduled to occur. Click Set to save your changes.

  8. Repeats: Specify how often you want the event to repeat - Once, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, or Repeats Interval. If you select Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly, the dialog expands, enabling you to customize the repetition interval. If you select Repeats Interval, you can specify the number up minutes between repeat events (up to 1440 minutes, or 24 hours), and whether you would like the event to be repeated continuously or a fixed number of times.

  1. Click the Activity Parameters tab and complete the following fields:

  2. Select Activity: Select Backup.

  1. In the Backup file prefix field, enter a prefix to apply to the database file names. The prefix should be all lowercase and should contain only letters and numbers. Spaces are not allowed. The databases will be saved to the FTP or SFTP server using filenames in the following format: <prefix>_<node name>_<release version>_<timestamp>.tar

  2. Select Call History and/or Voice mail messages if you want to include them in your backup. Including these records and messages can increase the backup time significantly.

  1. Click Submit and then OK to save the new event.
    The new event is added to the event list.

NOTE: To run the event outside the normal schedule, see Execute an Event Immediately.