Backing up and restoring your ArcGIS Server site

Server administrators often want to preserve periodic backups of their site so it can be restored in the event of hardware failure, human error, or other problems. You can back up your site by making a copy of your configuration store and server directories as described in the steps below.

These instructions require you to perform the backup and restore in the same network environment, meaning that there are no changes to any paths or database connections used in the original site.

Some brief site downtime is required when making the backup. Esri is researching workflows for future versions of ArcGIS that will reduce this downtime or eliminate the need to take the site offline when making a backup.

Making a backup of your site

Carefully follow these steps to make a backup.

Steps:

1. Delete each machine from your ArcGIS Server site (but do not delete the site itself). Delete the machine running Manager last. Be aware that your site will go offline once you do this.

   This step is required to unlock the configuration store and server directories.

2. Make a copy of your configuration store and server directories, and put the copy in a safe location.
3. Bring your site back online by opening Manager and running the Create New Site wizard. Enter the same primary site administrator account and directory paths you were using at the time of the backup.
4. Add any other machines you were using in your site and put them in their appropriate clusters.
5. If your site was using a Web Adaptor, rerun the Web Adaptor configuration page.
6. Verify that all your services are running as expected. In a single machine site with server object extensions (SOEs), you may need to manually start your services.

Restoring a backup

Once you have made a backup, you can restore it at any time using the following steps.

Steps:

1. Delete your site using the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory. The configuration store and server directories are left behind.
2. Delete the configuration store and server directories and replace them with a copy of your backed up configuration store and server directories.
3. Ensure that the ArcGIS Server account has permissions to read and write to the configuration store and server directories. On Windows, it must have at least Modify permissions on these folders.
4. Bring your site back online by opening Manager and running the Create New Site wizard. Enter the same primary site administrator account and directory paths you were using at the time of the backup.
5. Add any other machines you were using in your site and put them in their appropriate clusters.
6. If your site was using a Web Adaptor, rerun the Web Adaptor configuration page.
7. Verify that all your services are running as expected. In a single machine site with server object extensions (SOEs), you may need to manually start your services.