There are a few key elements that you will want to have included in regularly scheduled backups on for your Mi-Enterprise Middleware installation. These include:
1) Customer Databases
2) Local storage folders
3) IIS WebApp configuration file
4) Additional items relating to data exports
Customer Databases
Each customer that is defined in your Mi-Enterprise Middleware configuration will have a database created for it on the SQL Server instance that you are using. Be sure that each of these databases is included in your SQL Server backup plan. They contain details about the templates, groups, and users that are defined for the customers in addition to audit history and other details. You will see the names of these customer databases in the connectionStrings section of the web.config file for the Mi-Enterprise Middleware WebApp, as well. That can be a quick way to verify which databases you need to include in your backup plan.
Local Storage Folders
The local storage folders contain a few different types of data that are important to back up. The Session storage folder contains the encrypted XML files with the actual session data for the form sessions that have been created on the server. The Template storage folder contains the form template files for forms that have been uploaded to the server and any related files that may also be associated with the templates. Logs and preferences are also contained in the local storage location. By default, these folders are located in “C:\mfs\” on the Mi-Enterprise Middleware machine. The folder locations are defined in web.config as well. You will want to include this folder and its subfolders in your server backup plan.
IIS WebApp Configuration File
Another important item to include in your backups is the web.config file for the Mi-Forms Server WebApp. This file contains configuration details for the Mi-Enterprise Middleware WebApp, such as the names of the customers for the system, database connection details, etc. By default, this file would be located in “C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mfs”. If the name/location of the WebApp was changed during installation, the file would be found in the new location corresponding to the modified installation details. You will want to include this file in your server backup plan.
Custom Data Exports
If your particular Mi-Forms installation leverages data exports, it may also be appropriate to include these elements in your backup plan. For example, if there are customer database tables that are used to hold data exported from finished forms, they should also be included in your database backup plan. Or if there is a local folder on Mi-Enterprise Middleware, or another network folder location, that is used to hold PDF documents that are exported from finished forms, those locations should be included in an appropriate backup plan. These are just a few examples to consider, your specific needs will vary.
Ensuring that these items are backed-up on a regular basis will help you quickly restore your Mi-Enterprise Middleware installation should the need arise.