AEM Online Backup

[arvind]

Hi Team,

Would like to understand best practices about Online Backup using JMX.

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/system/console/jmx/com.adobe.granite:type=Repository/op/startBackup/java.lang....

Using above command, I am taking backup at this location:/mnt/crx-online-backup/01052023/backup.zip

Since it it prod/Stage env, repo size as of now is 15 GB which will keep growing over period of time.

1) Should we take backup weekly in different folders based on date and time naming convention. It means every week, Repo will grow just double in size. How we can manage this? Manually deleting older back ups?

2) OR shall we take back up at a fixed location so every new backup overwrites old one.  Is it safe? e.g. while taking new backup and progress is 60%, at that time instance got corrupted due to any reason so what happens?

My old safe backup will remain as it is till progress is 100% . If not so, my old safe backup also becomes inconsistent ? 

[ManviSharma · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Online backups using JMX is a recommended practice to ensure data security and availability. Here are the answers to your questions:

1. Taking weekly backups in different folders based on a date and time naming convention is a good practice. It allows you to have multiple restore points and provides some flexibility in choosing which backup to restore from. However, as you mentioned, this can result in a rapid increase in the size of the backup folder, which could potentially consume a significant amount of disk space. To manage this, you can consider deleting older backups manually or setting up an automated script to do it for you. Be sure to test your restore process regularly to ensure that you can restore from any of your backup points if needed.

2. Taking a backup at a fixed location that overwrites the old one can also be a good practice if you have limited disk space. However, it is important to note that if there is any issue during the backup process, such as corruption or failure, the old backup will become inconsistent, and you may lose data. To mitigate this, you can consider taking multiple backups at different times and locations or using a backup solution that provides incremental backups to reduce the risk of data loss. Also, make sure to test your restore process regularly to ensure that you can recover from your backups as expected.