Category Component 26.3
Category Component Help

# Back up the Entire Content component Data Index

You can back up the entire Content component data index in several ways:

- Immediately, using a `DREBACKUP` index action.

  NOTE: You can also back up Content by using the `BackupServer` ACI action. However, OpenText generally recommends that you use the index action, because `BackupServer` uses an ACI thread, which reduces the number of other processes that Content can run.

- At regular intervals, by setting up a scheduled backup.

- Automatically, whenever you send a `DRECOMPACT` index action.

- Dynamically, by taking a snapshot of the data.

Related Topics

- Back up the Data Index Immediately

- Back up the Data Index at Regular Intervals

- Back up the Data Index Automatically

- Back up the Data Index Dynamically

## Back up the Data Index Immediately

Send a `DREBACKUP` action (case sensitive) from your Web browser to copy all the Content component data index `*.DB` files to a new location.

    http://ContentHost:indexPort/DREBACKUP?Path=path

where:

`ContentHost` | is the IP address or host name of the Content machine.
`indexPort` | is the Content index port (specified by the `IndexPort` parameter in the `[Server]` section of the Content configuration file).
`path` | is the path to the location where you want to create the backup. In Windows, you can use a Unicode path.

For example:

    http://MyHost:20001/DREBACKUP?Path=E:\Backup

This action uses port `20001` to create a backup of the Content data index on `E:\Backup`. The Content whose data index is backed up is located on a machine with the host name `MyHost`.

You can set the optional parameter `CheckIndexUpdates` to `True` if you want to check for updates to the index since the last backup. In this case, Content skips the backup if the index has not been modified.

`DREBACKUP` also accepts the optional parameter `HostDetails`. Set `HostDetails` to `True` to write the backup to a subdirectory in the specified directory path. Content names this directory using its host and port. In this way, a series of servers under a Distributed Index Handler (DIH) can all accept the same directory as input, and they write to a subdirectory named with their own host and port.

## Back up the Data Index at Regular Intervals

Use the following procedure to back up the data index at regular intervals.

To back up the data index at regular intervals

1. Open the Content component configuration file in a text editor.

2. Find the `[Schedule]` section. If the configuration file does not contain a `[Schedule]` section, add one.

3. Specify the following parameters in the `[Schedule]` section:

   `Backup` | Set to `True` to enable a schedule backup.
   `BackupCheckIndxUpdates` | Set to `True` to check for updates to the index before Content runs a backup. When the index has not changed, Content skips the scheduled backup.
   `BackupCompression` | Set to `True` to compress the Content data index before the backup.
   `BackupTime` | Specify the time (`hh:mm`) when you want the backup to start.
   `BackupInterval` | Specify the number of hours that elapse between individual backups. Set to `0` (zero) to back up daily.
   `BackupDirN` | Set to the path to the location where you want to create the data index backup. You must specify one directory for each of the `NumberOfBackups`.
   `BackupMaintainDirStructure` | Set to `True` to maintain the directory structure when the data index is backed up.
   `NumberOfBackups` | Specify the number of times that you want to back up the Content data index. You can cycle the backing up procedure by specifying multiple backups (the number of backups you specify must correspond to the number of `BackupDirN` directories that you specify). Content runs multiple backups in the following way: It creates the first backup at the specified `BackupTime`. It creates the next one after the specified `BackupInterval`, and so on. After the data index has been backed up as many times as you specified for `NumberOfBackups`, it overwrites the first backup the next time that the specified `BackupInterval` elapses. This process means that you always have a current set of data index backups.
   `BackupRetryAttempts` | Specify the number of times that you want Content to reattempt a backup if it fails. After this number of attempts, Content cancels the operation.
   `BackupRetryPause` | The number of seconds that you want Content to wait between backup attempts.

For example:

    [Schedule]
    Backup=True
    BackupCompression=True
    BackupTime=00:00
    BackupInterval=24
    BackupMaintainStructure=True
    BackupRetryAttempts=3
    BackupRetryPause=5
    NumberOfBackups=3
    BackupDir0=E:\DataIndex_Backup0
    BackupDir1=E:\DataIndex_Backup1
    BackupDir2=E:\DataIndex_Backup2

## Back up the Data Index Automatically

Use the following procedure to back up the data index automatically whenever you send a `DRECOMPACT` action.

To back up the data index automatically

1. Open the Content component configuration file in a text editor.

2. Find the `[Schedule]` section. If the configuration file does not contain a `[Schedule]` section, add one.

3. Specify the following parameters in the `[Schedule]` section:

   `PreCompactionBackup` | Set this parameter to `True` to perform a backup of key files automatically whenever a `DRECOMPACT` action is sent (either from a Web browser, or by an Content component schedule). Content backs up the files before it compacts the data index, so that you can restore them. `True` is the default value. The backup maintains the Content directory structure. You can compress the backup by setting `BackupCompression` to `True` and setting `BackupCompressionLevel`.
   `PreCompactionBackupPath` | If you set `PreCompactionBackup` to `True`, you can use `PreCompactionBackupPath` to specify the path to the directory where you want to back up files. By default, it uses the `internalbackup` directory in the Content data directory. If Content shuts down without completing a compaction, it uses the contents of this directory to restore itself.

## Back up the Data Index Dynamically

If your Content component storage is a SAN with disk-snapshot capabilities, you can perform a hot backup (snapshot) of the data index.

To back up the data index dynamically

1. Send the `DREFLUSHANDPAUSE` action to prepare Content for the hot backup by flushing all files to disk and pausing indexing:

       http://ContentHost:indexPort/DREFLUSHANDPAUSE?

2. Note the index ID returned from this action (for example, `INDEXID=41`); you need this ID later to restart the paused indexing queue.

3. Poll Content with the `IndexerGetStatus` action to view the status of the flush and pause process:

       <autnresponse>
       <action>INDEXERGETSTATUS</action>
       <response>SUCCESS</response>
       <responsedata>
       <item>
           <id>41</id>
           <origin_ip>127.0.0.1</origin_ip>
           <received_time>2006/10/06 13:47:15</received_time>
           <start_time>2006/10/06 13:47:16</start_time>
           <end_time>Finished</end_time>
           <duration_secs>0</duration_secs>
           <percentage_processed>0</percentage_processed>
           <status>-16</status>
           <description>Indexing Paused</description>*
           <index_command>/DREFLUSHANDPAUSE? HTTP/1.1</index_command>
       </item>
       </responsedata>
       </autnresponse>

   When the returned status is `–16` (`Indexing Paused`), you can perform the hot backup.

4. Take the snapshot according to the procedures defined by your SAN.

5. After the snapshot completes, restart the indexing queue. Issue another `IndexerGetStatus` action, this time specifying a `Restart` action:

       action=IndexerGetStatus&Index=indexNum&IndexAction=restart

   where `indexNum` is the index ID (for example, `41`) returned from `DREFLUSHANDPAUSE`.

Copyright 2026 Open Text
Version 26.3 | Last updated July 2026

Send documentation feedback

Close

Send documentation feedback

To send feedback using your default email client, open an email window.

Otherwise, send your feedback and the information below to MFI-swpdl.idoldocsfeedback@opentext.com.

We appreciate your feedback!

Product: Knowledge Discovery Category Component 26.3

Topic Title: Back up the Entire Content component Data Index