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This page describes the ways in which you can restore the VoipNow system.

Overview

A VoipNow backup can be restored in-place (on the same server) or on a different server (target and source are different).

The following assumptions are made:

  • You have at least one database backup (a file having VN_DB_ in its name).
  • You have at least one full filesystem backup (a file having VN_FS_FULL_ in its name).
  • You have zero or more incremental filesystem backups (a file having VN_FS_INCR in its name).

Please note that migration and backup restore are sensitive operations. We strongly recommend that you do not proceed unless you have experience with VoipNow. Otherwise, please open a support ticket. Also kindly note that errors or wrong actions during migration are not handled by the standard support packages.

Restore the same server

If your server already has VoipNow installed, run the following command:

The location of existing backups will be automatically queries and the following operations will be performed:

  1. Services are stopped.
  2. The latest database backup is restored.
  3. The latest full filesystem backup is extracted.
  4. The incremental backups following the last full filesystem backup are extracted.
  5. Services are started.

Restore to a different server

To restore the backup on a new server:

  1. Install VoipNow on the new server.
  2. Log in and configure the backup settings (only the backup folder is important at this stage).
  3. Copy the database backup, the full filesystem backup and (optionally) the incremental filesystem backups to the specified folder.
  4. Run the following command:

    vnrestore

  5. Services are stopped.
  6. The latest database backup is restored.
  7. The latest full filesystem backup is extracted.
  8. The incremental backups following the last full filesystem backup are extracted.
  9. Services are started.

If the target server has a new IP (the backup was done on a machine with different IP), the vnrestore script will log an error message due to VoipNow services being unable to start. This is normal - VoipNow components will not start properly until the database is updated (the old IP must be replaced with the new IP).

Debugging

Both the vnbackup and the vnrestore scripts read the DEBUG variable in backup.conf. If set to yes, additional debug information will be logged in the console.

Also, both vnbackup and vnrestore will create lock files under /var/lock/.vnbackup and /var/lock/.vnbackup. If their execution is not properly ended (meaning the script is stopped forcefully or an error is encountered), these lock files remain in place and will block further operations.

Please check the cause of the error by inspecting the log files, fix the error, and only then remove the corresponding lock file.


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