Parent page: Altium Vault
An Altium Vault can hold a broad range of valuable data, including defined users, roles, LDAP Sync tasks, design data (including projects, components, models, templates), and configurations for PLS and NIS services (and typically a range of acquired products and extensions, and defined deployment packages for the latter). A key requirement of ensuring the long-term integrity of this data, is backing it up. The standard Altium Vault installation includes a backup and restore tool, accessed via a command prompt.
The default location of the backup tool is in the folder \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\Tools\BackupTool\.
The name of the backup tool is avbackup.exe.
Accessing the Backup Tool
To use the tool:
- Launch a Windows Command Prompt.
You must run the Command Prompt in administrator mode to be able to use the Backup and Restore tool. If you are not running a CMD prompt as a Windows Administrator, attempting to execute a command in respect of backing up, or restoring your Altium Vault, will result in the clear message: Access Denied. Administrator permissions are needed to use the selected options. Use an administrator command prompt to complete these tasks.
- Navigate to the correct folder. For a default installation on C drive of the host computer, this will be:
cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\Tools\BackupTool\
- To run the tool and list the available options, at the prompt type:
avbackup ?
While it is not possible to paste into a Command Prompt using Ctrl+V, you can paste via the right-click menu. Copy the required strings first, then paste using this technique to save time and avoid mistakes.
Accessing the backup tool through a Command Prompt (run as administrator).
Note the ?, including this displays help on the functions available in the backup tool:
backup - backup data to ZIP archive.restore - restore data from ZIP archive. The Restore Point will be automatically created.help - display the help screen (? can be used instead of the string help).
Contents of the Zip Archive
The tool backs up the entire Vault and user-data, including:
- Full database backup, including: all data Items (models, components, managed sheets, templates, released designs, etc), users, roles, installations acquired via the Network Installation Service, and LDAP Synch settings.
- All revisions of above.
- Repositories and included managed designs.
- Search index.
- User-defined (custom) settings.
Backup Syntax and Switches
The following switches are available when using the backup function of the tool:
avbackup backup -z [-i] [-m]
-z - path and filename of the target zip file that is to be created. Enclose in quotes if there are spaces in the string. This switch is required.-i - path and location of the LocalVault.ini file, which details the current location of the Altium Vault to be backed up. The default location of this file is C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\. If this switch is not specified, the tool will attempt to find the file automatically, based on this default installation location. Enclose in quotes if there are spaces in the string.-m - allows you to determine whether the backup operation should run silently (-m silent, which is the default mode), or if a dialog should pop up asking to retry in the event of failure (-m dialog). If this switch is not specified, silent mode will be used.
By typing just avbackup backup, these switches will be listed as a helpful aid.
Switches available when using the tool in backup mode.
Backup Example
The following entry will silently backup the Altium Vault into the file named 201704_Backup.zip, writing the file to the folder C:\Backups\Altium Vault\:
avbackup backup -z "C:\Backups\Altium Vault\201704_Backup.zip" -i "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\LocalVault.ini"
Any folders specified must already exist. Also, existing files are overwritten if the new file has the same name as an existing file.
The result of running the example backup command.
Restore Syntax and Switches
The following switches are available when using the restore function of the tool:
avbackup restore -z [-i] [-m]
-z - path and filename of the backup zip file, from which to restore. Enclose in quotes if there are spaces in the string. This switch is required.-i - path and location of the LocalVault.ini file, which details the location in which to restore the Altium Vault. The default location of this file is C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\. If this switch is not specified, the tool will attempt to find the file automatically, based on this default installation location. Enclose in quotes if there are spaces in the string.-m - allows you to determine whether the restore operation should run silently (-m silent, which is the default mode), or if a dialog should pop up asking to retry in the event of failure (-m dialog). If this switch is not specified, silent mode will be used.
By typing just avbackup restore, these switches will be listed as a helpful aid.
Switches available when using the tool in restore mode.
Restore Example
The following entry will silently restore the Altium Vault using the backup zip file named 201704_Backup.zip, which is stored in the folder C:\Backups\Altium Vault\:
avbackup restore -z "C:\Backups\Altium Vault\201704_Backup.zip" -i "C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\LocalVault.ini"
The result of running the example restore command. Notice that the tool creates a restore point first (a backup of the current Altium Vault installation), before
performing the restore.
Restore Point
The backup tool automatically creates a restore point before commencing to restore the Vault. To do this, the backup tool performs a backup on the existing Vault, and copies the restore ZIP into the following location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\Tools\BackupTool\Backups\
The ZIP is named in the format: Backup_<Date>_<Time>.zip.
Errors During Backup or Restore
Errors that occur during a backup or restore are presented directly within the CMD window, along with full path information to the error log:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium Vault\Tools\BackupTool\errors.log
When backing up or restoring your Vault, details of any errors, as well as full path to the errors.log file, are presented directly in the CMD window.
