Backing up

Backing up is a vital task of any system administrator. It should be done on a regular basis, and especially before doing any in-place upgrades. This section discusses how to backup the various components of OpenGeo Suite.

Backing up the GeoServer Data Directory

The GeoServer data directory is located by default here:

Installation Target GeoServer Data directory
Windows C:\\ProgramData\\Boundless\\OpenGeo\\geoserver
Mac ~/Library/Application Support/GeoServer/data_dir
Linux /var/lib/opengeo/geoserver
War Install <SERVLET_ROOT>/webapps/geoserver/data/

In general, the directory can safely be copied or archived to another location, and can be restored by reversing the process. Please be sure to shut down GeoServer before making any backups or restores.

Backing up the PostGIS database system

Note

Please see the Installation section for your particular operating system if backing up in preparation for an upgrade to OpenGeo Suite 4.x.

The PostGIS databases can be backed up with the built-in utilities pg_dump (for a single database) and pg_dumpall (for multiple databases).

Miscellaneous backup tasks

GeoExplorer saves its map configurations in a file called geoexplorer.db. By default this file is located at:

Windows C:\\ProgramData\\Boundless\\OpenGeo\\geoexplorer
Mac ~/Library/Application Support/GeoServer/data_dir
Linux /var/lib/opengeo/geoexplorer

This file can be safely backed up and restored as necessary without any special utilities.

Custom content

Make sure to backup all data and custom applications hosted on the server but not contained in the GeoServer data directory. The details are dependent on the content and where it was placed.