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Today's technology-driven businesses rely on digital devices and systems for much of their day-to-day operational needs. For this reason, every corporation should have a disaster recovery procedure in place that covers hardware, software and critical data necessary for businesses to function.

Contingency plans don't have to be complicated. However, to be effective, recovery procedures should be:

• Available in writing.
• Accessible to those who need them.
• Easily understandable.
• Audited and tested on a regular basis.
• Revised as necessary.

This article explains how to back up and restore the critical statistics data and configuration settings of your ipMonitor 8 installation. Following the guidelines detailed here will allow you effectively prepare for and recover from a failure that could cause your ipMonitor installation to become unavailable.

We recommend saving the PDF version of this document to an easily accessible location and storing these guidelines alongside any other disaster recovery procedures your company maintains.

Click the PDF icon to open a printable PDF version of this tutorial. It includes all the information found here, including images from the ipMonitor software, diagrams, and links to additional resources.

The primary objective of this disaster recovery plan is to enable a corporation to get ipMonitor up and running again in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of effort. To properly implement this recovery procedure, you will require the following:

1. Your company's Account and Password information for the ipMonitor Support Portal.

Access to the ipMonitor Support Portal (located at https://support.ipmonitor.com) will provide you with:

• The latest ipMonitor 8 installation bundle.
• The ipMonitor 8 Backup and Restore utility.
• 7-day Emergency licensing.

2. A recent *.ipm8backup file from your ipMonitor 8 installation.

ipMonitor 8 includes the ability to archive your configuration settings on a regular basis using the Recurring Internal Maintenance feature. Specifying an Encryption Credential will allow the archiving process to include the usernames and passwords stored in the ipMonitor Credentials Database.

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This is the only method that can be used to back up and restore the ipMonitor 8 Credentials Database. Credential information cannot be exported using the Export Settings feature.

Since manually repopulating every existing Credential with its username and password can be a time consuming process, archiving your Credentials data is highly recommended.

Note: The instructions outlined in this article assume that an Encryption Credential has been used to store your Credentials data.

3. The password for the Encryption Credential.

If you specified an Encryption Credential when archiving your configuration settings, you will need the password in order to retrieve the Credential information from ipMonitor's Credentials Database.

4. The username and password information of the Windows Account assigned to the ipMonitorSrv Service.

This information is only necessary if the ipMonitorSrv Service is configured to run under an account other than the default Local System Account.

5. The username and password information for any Local Machine Windows Accounts impersonated by Credentials assigned to Monitors or Alerts.

Since the ipMonitor Credentials Database will refer to local Windows accounts once restored, these accounts will need to be recreated on the server where ipMonitor 8 will reside.

6. A recent backup of the following sub-directories located in the ipMonitor installation directory:

• \backup
• \dbstore
• \dbtemp
• \logs
• \state
• \internal
• \wwwroot
• \db*
• \historic*

* You will only need to back up the indicated Legacy directories if:

• The existing ipMonitor 8 installation was directly upgraded from ipMonitor 7.
  
  -and-
• The installation is still configured to record statistics using both ipMonitor 7 and ipMonitor 8 database formats for compatibility purposes.

Backing up your ipMonitor installation on a regular basis is an essential part of protecting your data. Fully archiving your accumulated statistics and configuration settings is a two step process:

Ensure the Archive ipMonitor Configuration option within the Recurring Internal Maintenance Schedule feature is enabled and has an Encryption Credential assigned.

To do so, proceed with the following:

• Log in to the ipMonitor web interface.
• Click the Automation menu option, and then select Maintenance Schedules.
• Click the Recurring Internal Maintenance link.
• Place a checkmark in the Archive ipMonitor Configuration checkbox.
• Click the Select... button to choose or create an Encryption Credential.
• In the Run on the Following Days section, select the desired day(s) for the backup process to run.
• Click Apply.

With the above settings in place, at approximately 12:15 AM every day the Recurring Internal Maintenance Schedule will back up the installation's complete configuration settings to a single encrypted file.

By default, the backup file will be created in the .\ipMonitor8\backup\ directory.

Incorporate the pertinent sub-directories of the ipMonitor 8 installation folder into your corporate backup strategy as frequently as it allows. The following sub-directories should be backed up at regular intervals:

• \backup
• \dbstore
• \dbtemp
• \logs
• \state
• \internal
• \wwwroot
• \db*
• \historic*

* You will only need to back up the indicated Legacy directories if:

• The existing ipMonitor 8 installation was directly upgraded from ipMonitor 7.
  
  -and-
• The installation is still configured to record statistics using both ipMonitor 7 and ipMonitor 8 database formats for compatibility purposes.

To recover your ipMonitor installation, you will require all the resources outlined in the section of this document titled ipMonitor Disaster Recovery Requirements. Fully restoring your ipMonitor 8 installation is a four-step process.

For this step of the recovery process, you will require your company's Account and Password information in order to log in to the ipMonitor Support Portal.

1. Log in to the ipMonitor Support Portal, located at https://support.ipmonitor.com.
2. Click the Downloads & Resources link located on the left side menu.
3. Download the following resources to the system where ipMonitor 8 will be restored:
   
   • The installation file for the most recent ipMonitor 8 build.
   
   • The ipMonitor 8 Backup-Restore Utility

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Ensure you download the ipMonitor 8 Backup-Restore Utility. If you download the ipMonitor 7.x Backup-Restore Utility instead, you will not be able to restore your installation's resources to any version of ipMonitor other than 7.x.

4. Launch the Computer Management MMC snap-in from the Windows Start Menu:
   
   Start → Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Computer Management
5. Use the Computer Management snap-in to recreate:
   
   • Any Local Machine Accounts impersonated by Credentials in the failed installation.
   
   • The Local Account that was previously assigned to the ipMonitorSrv Service, if necessary.
6. Install the software using the previously downloaded installation file for the most recent ipMonitor 8 build.

The ipMonitor 8 Configuration Program is used to configure key operating parameters for the ipMonitor Monitoring Service (ipMonitorSrv). After you install ipMonitor, the Configuration Program will automatically launch in "First Run" mode:

1. On the Software Licensing screen, click Next.
2. If you want to run the ipMonitorSrv Service under a Local Machine Account (previously created in Step 1 of the restore process) or a Domain Account, click the More button, then click Change... to assign the appropriate Windows Account. Click Next to continue.
3. If you need to adjust the TCP Ports used by the ipMonitor 8 HTTP and SSL web interfaces, click the More button, then click Change... to configure the settings as necessary. Click Next to continue.
4. Add an Administrator Account, and then click Next.
5. Enter an email address for the primary ipMonitor Administrator, and then click Next to complete the "First Run" process.

The Emergency Licensing tool is provided as a Customer Service courtesy to assist with cases of hardware failure or similar issues that render customers unable to properly Park the ipMonitor license. Once you've run through the ipMonitor Configuration Program, proceed with the following:

1. Open a command prompt window:
   
   Start → Run → type in: cmd → OK
2. Change the working directory to the .\ipMonitor 8 installation directory.
3. Type in the following command, then press Enter:
   
   ipmservice8 -sitecode
4. Copy the Site Code displayed, then minimize the command prompt window.
5. Log in to the ipMonitor Support Portal, located at https://support.ipmonitor.com.
6. Click the Licensing Manager link located on the right side of the top menu bar.
7. Select the appropriate product from the list of installations currently eligible for Emergency Licensing, and then click the Go button.
8. Click Next.
9. Paste in the Site Code you previously copied.
10. Copy the resulting Extension Code generated for your installation.
11. Activate the minimized command prompt window.
12. Type in the following command, then press Enter:
    
    ipmservice8 -activate [Emergency License Code]
    
    Note: In the above command, replace [Emergency License Code] with the Extension Code you previously copied.

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Emergency Licenses are valid for a period of 7 days. This length of time allows you to resolve your hardware or system issues in order to apply a new, permanent License to your installation. Immediately after the Emergency License is generated, the ipMonitor Technical Support department is notified of its existence. Although you will automatically be entered into the Technical Support queue, we strongly encourage you to proactively contact ipMonitor Technical support to begin the full License restoration process. Technical support is available during regular business hours, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except holidays. Telephone: 819.772.4134 Email: support@ipmonitor.com

Restoring your ipMonitor configuration settings and statistics data is the last step in fully recovering your failed installation:

1. Launch the Services MMC snap-in from the Windows Start Menu:
   
   Start → Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Computer Management
2. Stop the ipMonitorSrv and ipMonitorRpt Services.
3. Delete the contents of the following directories:
   
   • \dbtemp
   • \logs
   • \state
4. Restore the following directories from backup:
   
   • \backup
   • \dbstore
   • \dbtemp
   • \logs
   • \state
5. The following files and directories may also be needed in order to retain customized settings, but only in special circumstances as described below:

• \internal\mib_base.bxml	* If a custom SNMP MIB Database has previously been installed
• \wwwroot\rpticons\	* To retain any custom Report Icons saved to ipMonitor
• \wwwroot\saved\	* If Reports have been saved to this default location
• \wwwroot\stats\override.css	* To retain any CSS changes made to the Live Report screens
• \wwwroot\cfg\override.css	* To retain any CSS changes made to the Configuration screens

6. Extract and run the ipMonitor 8 Backup and Restore Utility downloaded from the ipMonitor Support Portal in Step 1.
7. When prompted by the ipMonitor 8 Backup and Restore Utility Wizard, point to the .\ipmonitor8\backup folder previously restored and select the newest *.ipm8backup file.
8. Provide the Encryption Credential Password for the backup file when prompted.

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If the password provided during the restore process was incorrect, Credentials will no longer be associated with the original Administrator Account(s) that created them when restored. As a result, they will be considered "Orphaned". This is a security precaution. To solve this issue, either run the Backup and Restore Utility again and provide another password, or reinitialize the Credentials manually. To learn more about reinitializing Orphaned Credentials, refer to section of the Administrator's Guide titled The Credentials Manager.

9. Click Restore.
10. Once the process is complete, click Exit.
11. Use the Services MMC snap-in to start the ipMonitorSrv and ipMonitorRpt Services.

The recovery process may result in additional ipMonitor configuration components that may not be necessary for your installation. These components can be quickly and easily removed from your configuration.

If the Administrator Account you added when restoring your installation is unnecessary, remove it by following the instructions outlined below:

1. Log in to the ipMonitor web interface using your standard (previously existing) ipMonitor Administrator Account information.
2. Click the Security menu option, and then select Accounts.
3. Click the name of the temporary Administrator Account.
4. Click the Demote from Administrator button, and then click OK.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox adjacent to the name of the temporary Administrator Account.
6. Click the Delete button.

The ipMonitor 8 Configuration Program automatically creates two Configurable Reports and a Report Publisher for the default system Monitors. If the two Reports and the Publisher are not needed, proceed with the following instructions to remove them:

1. Log in to the ipMonitor web interface.
2. Click the Reporting menu option, and then select Configurable Reports.
3. Place a checkmark in the checkboxes adjacent to the following Reports:
   
   • ipMonitor Host Resources Group
   • ipMonitor Host Resources Monitors
4. Click Delete, and then click OK to confirm the action.
5. Click the Reporting menu option, and then select Report Publishers.
6. Place a checkmark in the checkbox adjacent to the following Report Publisher:
   
   • default
7. Click Delete, and then click OK to confirm the action.

The ipMonitor 8 Configuration Program also creates a default Alerting Profile. If this Profile is not used, proceed with the following to remove it:

1. Log in to the ipMonitor web interface.
2. Click the Alerts menu option.
3. Place a checkmark in the checkbox adjacent to the following Profile:
   
   • ipMonitor Administrator
4. Click Delete, and then click OK to confirm the action.

For information on other features and concepts related to those discussed in this article, refer to the following ipMonitor resources:

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Last Updated: December 22, 2006 | What did you think of this topic?