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4.2. How to Backup HelpSpot

HelpSpot stores all it's data in the database, this makes backing up HelpSpot very easy. To have a complete backup of all your data simply backup the database using standard database backup procedures. These will vary depending on which database system you use, though it's likely your system administrators are already doing it or can have it done easily.

Systems Using an Alternate Attachment Storage Location

For systems that handle many email attachments HelpSpot has a setting (Admin->Settings->System->Attachment Storage Location) to allow attachments to be stored on the servers disks rather than in the database. This is more efficient and makes backup of the database much easier because the size of the database is much smaller.

If your installation uses this feature you'll also need to backup the attachments which are on disk in order to have a complete backup.

HelpSpot Files

It's optional to backup the HelpSpot files themselves. You can always re-download them if you need to, but if you do want to backup the files be sure to do so in a binary safe manner as all the .PHP files in HelpSpot are binary.

Even if you don't backup all the files you may want to keep a backup of config.php which stores the database connection settings as a convenience in case a recovery is needed. This file is in the root HelpSpot folder.

Restoring

To restore your HelpSpot installation follow your databases standard restoration procedure. Restore the HelpSpot files (if necessary), replace config.php or rebuild it (if necessary) and your installation should be up and running.

Some database specific backup resources:

• MySQL: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/backup.html
• Microsoft SQL Server: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187048.aspx
• PostegreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/static/backup.html

 

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