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111 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
111 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Understanding the snapshot file structure
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shortTitle: Snapshot structure
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intro: 'Understand the structure and contents of backup snapshot directories, including what is stored and how hard links are used.'
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versions:
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ghes: '>= 3.17'
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type: reference
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topics:
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- Backups
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---
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Each backup snapshot is stored in a timestamped directory (e.g., `YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS`) under the backup target path (e.g., `/data/backup/data`). Snapshots include full exports of key data stores. Git repositories, {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}, and other components are stored using hard links to optimize storage and enable efficient point-in-time restores.
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>[!NOTE] If you archive backup snapshots, you must preserve symbolic links. Dereferencing or excluding symbolic links—or storing snapshots on a filesystem that doesn’t support them—can cause restore failures.
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The `current` symlink always points to the most recent successful snapshot directory.
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## Contents of a snapshot directory (`<SNAPSHOT_TIMESTAMP>/`)
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Each snapshot directory contains files and folders for your instance’s configuration, data stores, and operational metadata. Below is a typical structure.
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### Settings and configuration
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```text
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settings.json # Main appliance settings
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manage-password # Management console password hash
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uuid # Appliance UUID
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version # GHES version at backup time
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strategy # Backup strategy used (e.g., rsync, cluster)
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cluster.conf # Cluster configuration (if applicable)
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```
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### Datastore exports
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```text
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mysql.sql.gz # Logical database dump (default) OR
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xtrabackup_checkpoints # Binary backup metadata (if binary backups used)
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xtrabackup-export.log # Log snippet from binary backup
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mysql-binary-backup-sentinel # Indicates binary backup type
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# May include other files related to logical or binary MySQL backups
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```
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### Redis
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```text
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redis.rdb # Redis database dump
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```
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### Elasticsearch
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```text
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audit-log/ # Audit log indices (uses hard links)
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elasticsearch/ # Search indices (if not skipped, uses hard links)
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```
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### {% data variables.product.github %} data
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```text
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repositories/ # Git repositories (uses hard links)
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pages/ # GitHub Pages content (uses hard links)
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storage/ # Alambic-managed storage: avatars, attachments, etc. (uses hard links)
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```
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### {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} and CI/CD
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```text
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actions/ # GitHub Actions blob storage (uses hard links)
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mssql/ # MS SQL Server backups (.bak, .diff, .log) (uses hard links)
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minio/ # MinIO object storage (if Actions or Packages enabled, uses hard links)
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```
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### Secrets and credentials
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```text
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authorized-keys.json # SSH keys authorized for administrative access
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github-secrets.tar # Tarball of various exported instance secrets
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saml-keys.tar # SAML IdP keys (if applicable)
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ssh-host-keys.tar # SSH host keys
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ssl-ca-certificates.tar # Custom CA certificates (if applicable)
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# Includes other internal secrets and keys necessary for instance operation.
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```
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### Hooks and delivery data
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```text
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git-hooks/ # Custom Git hooks (uses hard links)
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hookshot/ # Webhook delivery data (uses hard links)
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```
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### Miscellaneous
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```text
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enterprise.ghl # License file (often restored separately)
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live-upgrade/ # Data for live upgrades or migrations (uses hard links)
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benchmarks/ # Performance logs for backup steps
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```
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## Backup root directory contents (`/data/backup/data/`)
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The root backup directory includes all snapshot folders and metadata used for incremental backup tracking and pruning:
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```text
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YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS/ # Snapshot directory (one per backup)
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... # Other snapshot directories
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current # Symlink to the most recent successful snapshot
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inc_full_backup # Tracks base for MySQL incremental backups
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inc_snapshot_data # Tracks incremental MySQL snapshots
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prune_* # Temporary directories marked for deletion
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inc_previous_* # Renamed snapshot directories during pruning cycle
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```
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