Maintain the AOLserver Directories

The AOLserver directories described below should be backed up regularly to ensure against file system failure.

Back Up the Pages Directory

The location of the pages directory for each virtual server is determined by the server-specific PageRoot entry in the AOLserver configuration file (see Chapter 3). Normally, it is the /servers/servername/pages subdirectory under the AOLserver home directory.

The AOLserver is often configured to store archived versions of pages in the database using the nstext module (see Chapter 3). However, you cannot rely on these versions to restore the pages directory when a file system failure occurs. Only HTML pages are saved in the archives and only pages saved through the AOLserver or existing before you synchronize the database are archived. Therefore other content, such as GIF images or sound files, are not in the database archives.

Use whatever file system backup procedure you have in place at your site. To schedule nightly backups, use the Unix cron facility.

Synchronize the Pages Directory

If the nstext module is loaded, the pages directory may occassionally need to be synchronized with the database. Synchronization ensures that the database full-text index table (ns_page_server-name) and the database archives table (ns_archives_server-name) include all HTML pages in the pages directory.

Normally, if all pages are saved, updated, and deleted through the AOLserver using AOLpress, database synchronization is not necessary because the AOLserver automatically keeps the ns_pages and ns_archives table up to date. However, if you change the pages directory without using the AOLserver--for example, by bulk copying pages from another location--the AOLserver does not know the new pages exist and does not update the database tables. In this case, you must manually synchronize the pages directory with the database using the instructions below.

To have the AOLserver search all existing pages in the pages directory and update the database tables, follow the Synchronize Database with Filesystem link on the Full Text AOLserver administration page.

1. From a Page window in AOLpress choose the Tools Administer Server menu item. Choose your server from the dialog that appears. If it is not listed, type http:// followed by the name of the host where the server is running.

2. On the Administration page, follow the Full Text Processing link.
   

3. On the Full Text Processing page, follow the Synchronize Archive and Full Text Index with Filesystem link.

4. On the Synchronize Database page, click Begin Synchronization. The AOLserver returns a page with a link to view a file that logs the actions taken by the synchronization process.

Back Up the Access Log

The access log file needs to be backed up regularly. By default, the access log for each virtual server is in the /servers/server-name/modules/nslog/access.log file under the AOLserver home directory.

The access log can be configured to automatically open a new log as it grows (with the MaxSizeKB parameter) and to limit the number of old logs maintained (with the MaxBackup parameter). This sets an upper limit on the amount of disk space the access logs take. However, because old logs beyond the limit configured to be saved by the AOLserver are deleted automatically, you must back up old logs if you require a complete history of access to your site. For example, if the MaxBackup parameter in the configuration file is set to 5, only five old access log files will remain on disk. When a sixth log file needs to be opened because the active log has grown beyond the size specified by the MaxSizeKB parameter, the oldest log is removed.

Back Up the Server Log

Ordinarily, the server log file grows at a slow rate and does not need regular truncation. However, while debugging new applications, you should set the Verbose parameter in the [NS\Module\nsdb\Pool\pool-name] section in the configuration file to on instead of off (the default). Every SQL statement sent to the database is logged in the error log and causes the file to grow much more quickly. In this case you may want to back up the error log.

Back Up the Tcl Scripts Directory

The Tcl scripts directory contains the source to the Tcl scripts that provide the server with much of its advanced functionality. Tcl scripts for each virtual server are stored in the /servers/servername/modules/tcl subdirectory by default, and global Tcl scripts are stored in the /modules/tcl subdirectory by default.

If you write new Tcl scripts or edit the existing ones, you must ensure your changes are saved regularly to a safe place. Also, be sure that any external files utilized by your Tcl scripts are backed up too, including files outside the AOLserver home directory.

Back Up the bin Directory

The /bin subdirectory of the AOLserver home is the location of the AOLserver binary and the default location of any dynamically loadable C modules. If your site maintains several interesting loadable modules, you must make sure copies of the modules are backed up to avoid having to recompile them after a file system failure. Also, be sure to back up your module source code.