Backup of dbWatch Control Center

A dbWatch Control Center installation contains configuration and data that should be included in the normal server backup strategy.

It is generally not necessary to back up the dbWatch Control Center software installation itself, as the software can be reinstalled. The important areas to protect are the dbWatch Control Center configuration and cryptographic data, together with locally modified or customer-created resources and any local modifications made to files in the software installation directory.

dbWatch Control Center Server

The dbWatch Control Center Server stores its configuration and working data outside the software installation directory.

The default base directories are:

Windows:

C:\ProgramData\dbWatchControlCenter

Linux:

/var/dbwatch-controlcenter

The main directories are:

• config – dbWatch Control Center configuration
• crypto – cryptographic keys and certificates
• data – data and local resources
• log – log files
• work – temporary and working files

The config directory contains the configuration of the dbWatch Control Center environment and should always be backed up.

On Windows, the default location is:

C:\ProgramData\dbWatchControlCenter\config

On Linux:

/var/dbwatch-controlcenter/config

The configuration includes, among other things, the dbWatch domain configuration, server configuration, monitored instances, groups, metadata and extension configuration.

Some configuration areas, including domain and server configuration, also maintain a Git repository containing configuration history. This can be useful for recovering individual configuration changes, but should not be considered a replacement for an external backup of the dbWatch Control Center configuration.

The crypto directory contains cryptographic keys and certificates used by the dbWatch Control Center domain and should also be protected as part of a server backup.

Local resources

The following directory may contain locally modified or customer-created dbWatch resources:

Windows:

C:\ProgramData\dbWatchControlCenter\data\resources

Linux:

/var/dbwatch-controlcenter/data/resources

Depending on the installation, this may contain directories such as:

admin_spesifications_local
engines_local
global_reports_local
properties_local
tasks_local

These directories may contain local versions of administration specifications, database engine definitions, reports, properties and monitoring tasks.

Locally created or customer-modified resources should be backed up, as they may not be available from a new dbWatch Control Center installation.

Some resources in the _local directories may originally have been supplied by dbWatch, for example as a temporary update or fix before they were included in a released version of dbWatch Control Center. Once the corresponding resource is included in the installed dbWatch Control Center version, the local copy should normally be removed. Otherwise, the local version may continue to override the version supplied with dbWatch Control Center.

Customer-created or intentionally customized resources should, however, be retained and included in the backup.

It is therefore useful to review the contents of the _local directories after an upgrade and distinguish between:

• Customer-created or intentionally customized resources, which should normally be retained.
• Resources previously supplied by dbWatch that are now included in the installed version, which should normally be removed from the local area.

For a more complete disaster recovery backup, consider backing up the complete dbWatch Control Center work area:

Windows:

C:\ProgramData\dbWatchControlCenter

Linux:

/var/dbwatch-controlcenter

The log and work directories are normally not required for configuration recovery, although logs may be useful for troubleshooting.

Changes in the software installation directory

A general backup of the dbWatch Control Center software installation directory is normally not necessary. The software can be reinstalled using the appropriate dbWatch Control Center installer or package.

The default software installation directories are:

Windows:

C:\Program Files\dbWatchControlCenter

Linux:

/opt/dbwatch-controlcenter

However, files in the software installation directory may be replaced when dbWatch Control Center is upgraded.

If files in this directory have been modified locally, these modifications should therefore be documented or backed up before an upgrade and reapplied afterwards if required.

One example is:

C:\Program Files\dbWatchControlCenter\dbwatch_server.parameters

This file contains startup parameters for the dbWatch Server JVM and may have been modified for special configurations, for example to enable TLS 1.0 support for connections to older database systems or for other Java startup configuration.

Another example is the Java truststore:

C:\Program Files\dbWatchControlCenter\jre\lib\security\cacerts

Additional certificates may have been imported into this truststore, for example when using LDAPS/Active Directory integration, SMTP servers with an internal Certificate Authority, or other TLS connections requiring certificates that are not trusted by the bundled Java installation by default.

Because the bundled Java runtime is part of the dbWatch Control Center software installation, changes made directly to this truststore should be recorded and the required certificates should be available for reimport after an upgrade if necessary.

Before upgrading dbWatch Control Center, check whether any files under the software installation directory have been modified locally.

dbWatch Monitor configuration

The dbWatch Monitor stores user-specific configuration in the user’s home directory under:

.dbwatch/.monitor/

This includes connection information, Monitor preferences, cryptographic information and any custom Monitor profiles.

Backing up this directory is optional, but can be useful if Monitor configuration and customizations need to be restored on a client workstation.

The dbWatch Monitor software itself does not normally need to be backed up, as it can be reinstalled.

dbWatch Local Schema in monitored databases

Depending on the database platform and installed dbWatch functionality, dbWatch may install a Local Schema or other dbWatch objects in the monitored database.

These objects can contain information used by installed monitoring jobs as well as collected historical information.

The dbWatch Local Schema should normally be protected by the regular backup strategy for the monitored database. A separate filesystem backup by dbWatch Control Center is not required.

If a database and its dbWatch Local Schema are restored from the normal database backup, the dbWatch objects will be restored together with the rest of the database.

Recommended backup strategy

For a normal dbWatch Control Center installation, we recommend:

• Regularly back up C:\ProgramData\dbWatchControlCenter on Windows or /var/dbwatch-controlcenter on Linux, with particular importance placed on config, crypto and locally customized resources under data/resources.
• Ensure customer-created or intentionally modified resources in the _local directories are included in the backup.
• After upgrading, review _local resources previously supplied by dbWatch and remove them when the corresponding resource is now included with the installed dbWatch Control Center version.
• Ensure the dbWatch Local Schema in monitored databases is covered by the normal database backup strategy.
• Optionally back up .dbwatch/.monitor for users where Monitor configuration or custom profiles should be preserved.
• Document any changes made under the dbWatch Control Center software installation directory.
• Before upgrading dbWatch Control Center, back up or record locally modified files in the software installation directory, including changes to dbwatch_server.parameters and certificates imported into the bundled Java cacerts truststore.

The dbWatch Control Center software installation itself does not normally need to be backed up.