Setting BackupService properties

Prior to making a station backup, set properties as needed in the running station’s BackupService. By default, backups exclude both the history and alarm databases. Other items are also excluded, such as prior saved station database copies, console outputs, and lock files. In most cases, you want to migrate history and alarms databases with your station to Niagara 4, so you need to modify default properties.

Prerequisites:

Stations are configured and running on a host compatible with Niagara 4.

In general, this is the recommended backup method for all platforms, and the only supported method when making a local backup at the Supervisor PC.

Perform the following steps:

In Workbench, open the station and access the BackupService property sheet.
Related BackupService properties shown above are:
1. In the BackupService for each AX-3.8 station to be migrated (whether host or Supervisor):
  Exclude Files: remove *.hdb; *.adb;
  
  Exclude Directories: remove file:^history and file:^alarm
2. In the Supervisor station’s BackupService, if configured for provisioning:
  Exclude Files: remove *backup*;
  
  This allows prior station backups to be brought over to the new N4.0 Supervisor.
Review the Exclude Files and Exclude Directoriessettings and make adjustments as necessary. These two properties apply to Fox online backups, that is, backups you initiate while the station is running.
The bottom two exclude properties apply when you initiate an offline backup with the station stopped, using a platform connection and the Platform Administration view. By default, alarms and histories are included (no Offline Exclude Directories entries, also as shown above).

NOTE: Make only online Fox backups (with station running) for any local station, such as a Supervisor. Otherwise, if you run an offline backup from the Platform Administration view, it includes all stations that may be on that platform. The migration tool rejects such a backup file, as it expects only a single station to be in the backup file. Online Fox backups are more convenient to run than offline backups.
Save any changes made.

Examples

The following figure shows an example BackupService configured in JACE station.

Figure 11. Example BackupService properties in JACE station

Note that Exclude Directories still includes file:^dataRecovery (not useful in migration).

The following figure shows an example BackupService in a Supervisor station that is configured for provisioning.

Figure 12. Example BackupService properties in Supervisor station configured for provisioning

Note that Exclude Files has no entry for: *backup*; (to allow prior provisioning backups to be brought over to the N4 Supervisor).