Backing up the index

To back up a data domain's index, take a snapshot of the index files by exporting them. You can later restore the index to this particular state.

This procedure discusses how to create a backup copy of the data domain's index, so that in the event of a failure, the data domain can be restored based on this index.

You can safely run an export command on a running data domain that is in the process of loading data or processing end-user queries. This is because the export command takes a snapshot of the data domain's index files based on a pinned version of the index (the index version is pinned automatically by the Endeca Server, for the purpose of taking a snapshot).

To back up the data domain's index:

  1. On any node in the Endeca Server, export the data domain by taking a snapshot of its index files. See Exporting and importing a data domain.
  2. Save the exported files to an offline location on another machine.
    Note: When you restore the data domain based on the previously-taken snapshot of its index, you will still need to recreate the deployment. This includes recreating the Endeca Server cluster, restoring the EndecaServer.properties file on all cluster nodes, and recreating the data domain profile, including the options with which the data domain was started.
  3. Once you have recreated the data domain profile in a different location, import the data domain.

Backing up the data domain's index is only a part of backing up the data domain. To back up the data domain, in addition to backing up the index, back up the EndecaServer.properties file.

If you are backing up a data domain that is deployed in a cluster, or backing up an entire Endeca Server cluster hosting more than one data domain, it is also helpful to record the topology of the Endeca Server nodes and data domains hosted on them (this information is captured in the WebLogic Server configuration, visible through the WebLogic Console), and the allocation of Cluster Coordinator services on these nodes and their ports (this information is captured in EndecaServer.properties).