Lock files and network backup

Hi,

I recently installed Openfire version 3.4.1 on a Windows 2000 Server. I configured it to the embeded database. I adde three users to the database. We could connect just fine with Spark version 2.5.8 and everything worked great. Our network admin started complaining that our network back up was having trouble with a lock file associated with Openfire. Where is the lock file coming from? How do I get rid of it? Do I have to stop the Openfire service and restart it after the backup?

Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Glenn Bruckner

Hey Glenn,

We do not recommend using the embedded DB for production environment for the exact reason you are having. The embedded database keeps the database in memory and it flushed the info to disk at some time. That means that in order to have a good backup system you need to stop the server to be sure that the database file has all the info you need (i.e. it’s complete and correct/consistent). Therefore, we do recommend using an external database for a production system. Databases like Oracle, MySQL, PostreSQL, etc. provide better support for hot backups.

Regards,

– Gato

Hi Glenn,

your admin should know best which lock file causes trouble during the backup of Openfire. Maybe you can tell us which file causes trouble.

The embedded HSQL database - like all HSQLDB databases - allows to create hot backups by simply copying all the files. The backup is usually usable for a restore unless you did take the backup during a checkpoint. So there’s no need to stop Openfire before a backup.

Jivesoftware does of course recommend that you use a database for which you have backup and recovery skills. If you have currently no other database running or no idea whether a restore will work you may prefer to use the embedded database.

LG