15.2 Back-up of user mailboxes and basic server configuration
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## 15.2 Back-up of user mailboxes and basic server configuration

Kerio MailServer supports back-up of the following items:

- user mailboxes,

- public folders,

- mailing lists,

- the `users.cfg` and `mailserver.cfg` configuration files,

- licenses,

- SSL certificates,

- SpamAssassin database.

For this purposes, any removable or network disk can be used.

Backups of user folders include various settings. To configure backups, go to the Backup tab under Configuration → Archiving & Backup:

Figure 15.3. Backup of user folders

Enable message store and configuration recovery backup

  This option allows backup and its configuration.

  If you do not wish to use Kerio MailServer's backup functions, disable the Enable message store and recovery backup option. If you remove all items in the backup schedule and leave the option active, the default backup schedule is downloaded and applied upon a Kerio MailServer's restart.

  Checking of Enable message store and configuration recovery back up automatically backs up all back up items (configuration files, licenses, certificates, SpamAssassin databases, user mailboxes, mailing lists and public folders). If you need to exclude any items from the back up, edit the `mailserver.cfg` configuration file, as described below:

  1. Click on the Kerio MailServer icon shown in the notification area and stop Kerio MailServer.

  2. In the directory where Kerio MailServer is installed, go to the `MailServer` folder to look up the `mailserver.cfg` file.

  3. Open the file in a text editor (e.g. in Notepad).

  4. In the edited file, find string `StoreBackup`. By default, its variables are set like this:

     `<variable name="IncludeMail">1</variable>`

     `<variable name="IncludeLists">1</variable>`

     `<variable name="IncludeSSLCert">1</variable>`

     `<variable name="IncludeLicense">1</variable>`

     `<variable name="IncludeSpamassassin">1</variable>`

  5. At items which you want to exclude from the back up process, change the variable value from `1` to `0`.

  6. Save changes.

  7. Run Kerio MailServer.

### Backup Schedule

On the Backup tab, backups can be scheduled in details. Two backup types can be scheduled:

- Full backup — full backup of all files.

- Differential backup — a partial backup, including all new files and files changed since the last backup. These backups are not so bulky. Typically, partial backups complement a full backup. If multiple differential backups in row are scheduled, the newest backup always rewrites the previous one. This means that at most one differential backup can be saved on the backup disk besides the full backup.

  ### Note

  If the method of differential backups is used, the most recent full and differential should be used in case that a backup recovery is performed.

The backup schedule is defined by backup tasks. Each task includes settings for time when the particular backup will be performed and selection of a backup type (see above). To add a new backup task to the schedule, click Add. A backup schedule definition window is opened (see figure 15.4 A backup task) that includes the following setting options:

Figure 15.4. A backup task

Description

  This is an optional item, it is used for better reference.

Schedule

  The box includes two entries where day and time are selected for the backup. It is recommended to perform backups at night (especially full backups) since backups might overload the mailserver.

Backup type

  Selection of either the full or differential backup type.

The Add button opens a definition of a new backup task. You can also click theEdit button to edit a corresponding task or Remove to remove a task from the schedule.

Both backup types can be combined by using multiple tasks. Any number of backup tasks can be defined. This depends on the user. Number of backup tasks may depend on:

1. Size of the data store which influences how long each backup takes and on its size. Both problems might be easily solved by using differential backups.

2. Importance of data which might be lost. This implies that backups are typically more frequent in companies where email communication and message storing is important. If backups are performed frequently, minimum of data is lost in case of the server's failure.

Click Advanced for advanced settings (see figure 15.5 Backup advanced options):

Figure 15.5. Backup advanced options

File settings

  Backups are saved in compressed files (`.zip`) where the maximal size of 2 GB is allowed. This box enables you to split the backup to several files of smaller size. The maximal file size for splitting is set to 2 GB by default. If a file exceeds the value set in the dialog, the file is not backed up.

Rotation

  Each backup of user folders is very space-demanding and it might be desirable to often remove these backups. It is possible to set rotation where old backups are removed automatically. Just specify number of backups to be kept in the Keep at most ... complete backups. Whenever the number is exceeded, the oldest backup is rewritten by the new one.

### Other settings

Backup directory

  Specification of the complete path to the backup directory (according to conventions of the operating system on which Kerio MailServer is installed).

  The default backup store is in the directory where Kerio MailServer is installed:

  `Kerio\MailServer\store\backup`

  Figure 15.6. Backup directory specification

  ### Warning

  It is recommended to change the backup directory by setting the path to the corresponding removable disk or another media where the backup will be stored if available.

  If Kerio MailServer is running on Windows, the path must be specified as UNC (see figure 15.6 Backup directory specification).

  If Kerio MailServer is running on Linux or Mac OS X, the following options are allowed:

  - Connect the backup server as a directory and specify the path to this directory in the Backup Directory entry. Here is an example of a result:

    `/mnt/server-backup`

  - Save the backup in a local directory and then, send it to the server (e.g. by using the `rsync` synchronization utility). Here is an example of a result:

    `/backup/kms/backup`

Network disk authentication

  In addition to saving backups to removable media it is also possible to store save backups to a network disk. If access to the disk is secured, authentication by username and password must be enabled (a user with access rights to the network location must be used).

  Username and password for authentication to the network disk can be used only if Kerio MailServer is installed on MS Windows.

  Figure 15.7. Network disk authentication

Notifications

  Specify an email address where notifications about the backup status will be sent by Kerio MailServer.

In addition to backups set in the schedule, it is also possible to make so called backup copies. The copy is a kind of full backup. The copy can be enabled by the Start now button. The current status of the backup process appears next to the button. In case of a backup recovery, the copy is considered as a standard full backup and it is used for the recovery if it is the most recent copy performed.

### Troubleshooting

For cases when a problem regarding backups occurs and needs to be solved, Kerio MailServer allows logging of backups:

1. In the Kerio Administration Console, go to the Logs section and select the Debug log.

2. Right-click on the log pane to open a context menu, and select Messages.

3. In the Logging messages dialog box, select Store Backup.

4. Confirm changes by OK.

Once your problems are solved, it is recommended to disable the logging.

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15.1 Archiving | Contents | 15.3 Data recovery from back-up