Create and restore application backups

Backup

The Bitnami Ghost Stack is self-contained and the simplest option for performing a backup is to copy or compress the Bitnami stack installation directory. To do so in a safe manner, you will need to stop all servers, so this method may not be appropriate if you have people accessing the application continuously.

NOTE: If you want to create only a database backup, refer to these instructions for MySQL/MariaDB.

Follow these steps:

• Change to the directory in which you wish to save your backup:

  $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers:

  $ sudo /opt/bitnami/ctlscript.sh stop
  

• Create a compressed file with the stack contents:

  $ sudo tar -pczvf application-backup.tar.gz /opt/bitnami
  

• Restart all servers:

  $ sudo /opt/bitnami/ctlscript.sh start
  

You should now download or transfer the application-backup.tar.gz file to a safe location.

Restore

Follow these steps:

• Change to the directory containing your backup:

  $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers:

  $ sudo /opt/bitnami/ctlscript.sh stop
  

• Move the current stack to a different location:

  $ sudo mv /opt/bitnami /tmp/bitnami-backup
  

• Uncompress the backup file to the original directory

  $ sudo tar -pxzvf application-backup.tar.gz -C /
  

• Start all servers:

  $ sudo /opt/bitnami/ctlscript.sh start
  

IMPORTANT: When restoring, remember to maintain the original permissions for the files and folders. For example, if you originally installed the stack as the root user on Linux, make sure that the restored files are owned by root as well.