Backup and restore

Take full and differential mailbox backups, schedule them, and restore the accounts you choose to any restore point. All jobs are tracked in one panel with a job list.

Global administratorAdmin console › Tools and Migration › Profelis Backup

Opening the screen

1. In the admin console open Tools and Migration › Profelis Backup. Summary cards (last run, storage, retention, job counts) are at the top and the Recent jobs list is below.
2. On the toolbar, Run Backup takes a backup and Restore restores one.
3. Groups manages account groups,
4. Schedules manages automatic backups,
5. Settings manages the backup directory and retention.

The Profelis Backup screen and toolbar

First settings

1. Press Settings. The Work directory is where backups and LDAP dumps are written (for example /opt/zimbra/backup/profelis).
2. In Retention (days) enter how many days backups are kept.
3. In Notification e-mail enter the address that receives job results. If needed, list accounts that must not be backed up in Excluded accounts, separated by commas. Save with OK.

The Profelis Backup Settings window

Disk space

The backup directory should be on a separate disk with enough space. If it fills up or a network disk disconnects, a full backup may be left incomplete.

Taking a backup by hand

1. Press Run Backup. As Scope choose All accounts, Selected accounts only or One domain.
2. Backup type: Automatic (full weekly, differential daily), Full or Differential.
3. If you chose Selected accounts only, type part of the account in the search box, select it in the Available list and move it right with >>.
4. The accounts you moved appear in the Selected list.
5. Start with OK. The job runs in the background.

The Run Backup window: a full backup of one account

Following the job

1. Update the list with Refresh (use Auto Refresh to keep watching).
2. Each job appears in Recent jobs with its type, scope and status. A finished job is marked Done, a failed one Failed.
3. Select a row and open the result with Show Detail.

Recent jobs: backup and restore jobs

The detail of a backup job

Scheduled backups

1. Press Schedules and enter a Schedule name (leave Enabled ticked).
2. In Time enter the run time (for example 01:30).
3. Cadence: Every day, Specific weekdays (tick the days) or Specific days of month.
4. Target: All accounts or a Group.
5. Backup type: with Automatic a full backup is taken once a week and differentials on the other days.
6. Add the schedule to the list with Save inside the window, then close the window with OK.

Backup Schedules: a weekday night backup

Account groups

Groups are lists used to point a schedule at certain accounts (they are not Zimbra distribution lists).

1. Press Groups and enter a Group name.
2. Paste the accounts, one address per line (or separated by commas or semicolons).
3. Create the group with Save. It can then be chosen in a schedule as Target › Group.

The Account Groups window

Restore

1. Press Restore. Only accounts that have a restorable backup on disk are listed. Select the account and move it right with >>; Target account is filled in.
2. Choose the point in Restore point(s). If you select several points with Ctrl / Cmd, they are restored oldest first in a single job.
3. Choose the Conflict resolution: modify updates changed items, skip keeps existing items, replace deletes then re-adds, reset wipes the mailbox first, items restores mail messages only, identity only recreates the account and signatures.
4. Start with OK and follow it in the job list.

The Restore Account window

Irreversible operations

replace and reset delete existing items and cannot be undone. Try them on a test account first. A deleted account is recreated from its saved account data; the domain must already exist and the password is not restored (a temporary password is set and must be changed at first sign-in).

Limits

There is no second-level point-in-time recovery (PITR). When restoring from a differential, items deleted later are not deleted again; archives are applied in order.

Other jobs

1. LDAP Dump: takes a directory backup. It is only for a full directory disaster and does not replace a mailbox restore.
2. Purge: deletes backups past their retention. It runs without asking for confirmation.
3. Rebuild Index: rescans the backup directories and refreshes the account list the restore window reads. It runs as a background job; use it when newly copied backups do not appear in the restore list.
4. More Actions › Application Consistent Backup: shows the freeze status if you use snapshots. See Quiesce.

Other jobs: LDAP dump, purge, index and more actions