Take Snapshots and Restore Information

You can take a snapshot of your system at any time.

Topics:

• Take a Snapshot

• Restore from a Snapshot

• Edit Snapshot Descriptions

• Delete Snapshots

Take a Snapshot

Administrators can take a snapshot of the system at any time.

1. Click Console.
2. Click Service Administration, and then click Manage Snapshots.
3. Click Create Snapshot.
4. Enter a short description for the snapshot to help you remember later why you took it.

   For example, why you created the snapshot and what it contains.

5. Select the content you want to include, Everything or Custom.
   • Everything - Include everything about your environment in the snapshot.
   • Custom - Select only the content types you want to save in the snapshot. Deselect any items that you don't want.
6. Click Create.

The latest content is saved to a snapshot.

Restore from a Snapshot

If something goes wrong, you can easily restore your content to a previous working state from a snapshot.

Restoring a snapshot temporarily disrupts your system and you don't see the restored content instantly. Before you start, read the tips about restoring snapshots and start your restore at a time that minimizes any impact on you and other users.

• As you start to restore the snapshot, any user currently signed in has his session terminated.

• After you restore from a snapshot, you must allow a few minutes for restored content to refresh through your system. For a large snapshot, allow approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

• When you restore a snapshot taken from a different service, you must upload the data associated with your data sets on the new service.

• You can restore snapshots taken from the same version as or an earlier version than your service is currently running.

1. Click Console.
2. Click Service Administration, and then click Manage Snapshots.
3. Select the snapshot that you want to use to restore your system.
4. Click Snapshot Actions .
5. Click Restore to return your system to the state when this snapshot was taken.
6. In the Restore Snapshot dialog, select only those elements you want to restore.

   For example, you may not want to include application roles if you’re restoring a snapshot taken from a pre-production service, to a production service. Pre-production roles often have different members to the production service. If so, select Custom and deselect Application Roles before you restore.

   1. Select the Restore option you want.
      • Replace Snapshot Content Only - Restore only the content inside the snapshot. Don't remove content that exists on the target; only replace content that's inside the snapshot.
      • Replace Everything - Overwrite all your existing content. Replace your existing content with the content included in this snapshot (listed in the description field). Any content types not included in the snapshot, excluding file-based data sets, plug-ins and extensions, are removed and restored with default settings.
      • Custom - Select only the content types you want to restore. You can restore with content saved inside the snapshot or restore content with default settings if that content is missing from the snapshot.
        • Content saved inside the snapshot is listed in the description field.
        • Content not included in the snapshot is marked with a warning icon . Only restore content marked with a warning icon if you want to restore that content with default settings.

        If you don’t want to restore everything, deselect all the items you want to keep.

   2. If you select Custom, select only those items you want to restore.
7. For auditing purposes, enter the reason why you’re restoring.

   It's good practice to include a restore reason. Later on you might want to analyze the restore history, and this information can help you remember why you restored the snapshot.

8. Click Restore.

   A warning message is displayed because restoring a snapshot can be very disruptive.

9. Click Yes to restore the selected snapshot, or click No to abandon the restore.
10. Wait for the restore to complete, and then wait a few more minutes for the restored content to refresh through your system.
    The time it takes to restore your system depends on the size of your snapshot. For a large snapshot, allow approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
11. Sign out and then sign back in to see the restored content and inherit newly restored application roles, if any.

Track Who Restored What and When

You can check the restore history to learn exactly when and what content was restored, and to check for any errors during the restore process. This might be useful if you experience issues during or after you restore a snapshot.

1. Click Console.
2. Click Service Administration, and then click Manage Snapshots.
3. Click the Page menu and select Show Restore History.

Edit Snapshot Descriptions

You can add or update the description for any snapshot.

1. Click Console.
2. Click Service Administration Manage Snapshots.
3. Select the snapshot you want to edit.
4. Click Snapshot Actions .
5. Click Edit Name.
6. Update the description, and click OK.

Delete Snapshots

From time to time, delete snapshots that you don’t need.

1. Click Console.
2. Click Service Administration Manage Snapshots.
3. Select the snapshot that you want to delete.
4. Click Snapshot Actions .
5. Click Delete to confirm that you want to delete the snapshot.