Cablecast Database Backup options

January 5, 2021
How To

Database backups are a very important part of protecting your system in the case of a catastrophic incident. These database backups hold all the metadata that is critical to the operation of your system. For example, a backup stores all of the show records and the information entered into them. If you ever have to replace your system without a backup, you would need to recreate all of your show records from scratch.

There are two different options for performing a database backup, automatic and manual. It is important to implement one or both ways in your regular system maintenance.

Automatic

In Cablecast versions 5.2.0 and up, customers have the ability to opt-in on automatic database backups. If you choose to participate, Cablecast will automatically backup the database for you. In version 5.2.x, it will do this every three nights. In versions 5.3.x and up, it does it every night. The backups will be stored locally on the server, and also uploaded to a secure location on Amazon's S3 Service. There is no charge for this service, and it is provided as a convenience.

If you would like to participate in this optional service some basic information is needed. This information is used to easily identify the appropriate backup should the need ever arise.

To configure automatic database backups:

  1. Open a web browser and navigate to the Cablecast Main Menu
  2. Click System Settings
  3. Click Database Backups
  4. Read the explanation and check the box next to Backup my database to opt-in to automatic database backups.
  5. Fill out all of the fields under Contact Information
  6. Click Save

Manual

You can do a manual database back up at anytime. If you are using an a version of Cablecast that is older than 5.2.0, you will need to do this manually. It is VERY IMPORTANT to make this a part of your regular system maintenance. An out-dated database backup isn't much more useful than having no backup at all.

To perform a manual backup:

  1. Open a web browser and log in to Frontdoor
  2. Select Server Setup from the Main Menu
  3. Select Database Tools
  4. Specify which databases that will be backed up
  5. Specify the location where the back up file should be created (We strongly recommend that you save or move your backups to a location other than the server's hard drive, so the back up will accessible if the server's hard drive dies)
  6. Click Backup

A red box will appear with the location of your backup once the backup process is complete.