Backing up Geocortex Essentials

Overview:

This article will cover the best practices for backing up your Geocortex Essentials server.  The method for backing up the server is up to you, this article will cover what needs to be backed up, not how to back it up.

Solution:

The following items need to be backed up:

1. Essentials Sites folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\Default\REST Elements\Sites

2. Geocortex Core Data: C:\Program Files\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Core\Data

3. The wwwroot folder: C:\inetpub\wwwroot
4. Make note of any changes that have been made to the REST Web.config file, because these changes can be lost when upgrading or reinstalling. However, it is not a good idea to replace this file with a copy when restoring from the backup.  The file is here:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\Default\REST Elements\REST\Web.config
5. For the HTML5 viewer, make note of any changes you made to the proxy.config, or index.html file, as they can be lost when upgrading as well.  As in step 4, it is not a good idea to replace these files with a copy when restoring.  These files are here by default:  C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Html5Viewer
6. If you are using Identity server for security on your site, you should back up the .sdf files in the following folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Identity Server\Web\App_Data (Note this path may be different if you are running multiple instances on your server!)

6. Optionally, a copy can be kept of the installer for the version of Geocortex Essentials that is being backed up, so that if a reinstall is ever necessary during the restore process, the installer for the matching version is available.

Steps to restore Geocortex Essentials data:

1. Install the version of Essentials that matches the version of the backup.
2. After Geocortex Essentials is installed, run the Post-Installation Configuration application.
3. Stop the Geocortex Core service.
4. Delete the Core Data folder here: C:\Program Files\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Core\Data
5. Replace the Data folder with the backup. 
6. Start the Geocortex Core service.
7. Copy the contents of your backed up Sites folder to the Sites folder here:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\Default\REST Elements\Site.
8. Copy the contents of the backed up wwwroot folder to the wwwroot folder on the Geocortex Essentials server
9. Make any required changes to in the REST web.config file located here:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\Default\REST Elements\REST\Web.config
10. Restore the .sdf files to the Identity server configuration directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Identity Server\Web\App_Data) 
11. Open Essentials Manager and check the sites and viewers to ensure they are configured correctly.  

Additional guidelines:

1. If the Geocortex Essentials server is a virtual machine (And is not participating in a Geocortex Core cluster), consider using snapshots for the created backups.  Using snapshots will simplify the backup and restore process.  Ensure you are familiar with the snapshotting requirements for the VM host before implementing this as a backup strategy.
2. When creating a VM Snapshot you should always stop the Geocortex Core service first. 
   • This prevents capturing the corrupt indices in the core that could arise if the snapshot is taken with core in a dynamic state.
3. Perform occasional restore tests to verify that the backups are valid and that you are familiar with the restore process.