Apply best practices to conduct backups and restorations

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"What is the purpose of the WebGISDR tool in ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"To create backups of your deployment and restore them in the event of a failure or corruption

"Where is the WebGISDR utility installed?"

"/tools/webgisdr."

"When is restoring a backup with WebGISDR a good option?"

"When users can accept some downtime and possible data loss

"Can you use WebGISDR backups even if you have other disaster recovery strategies?"

"Yes

"What components are included in a WebGISDR backup?"

"Portal items and settings

"What components are NOT included in a WebGISDR backup?"

"Map service cache tiles

"What must be enabled to create incremental backups with WebGISDR?"

"Point-in-time recovery."

"What access does WebGISDR need to succeed?"

"Access to at least one machine in each federated server site via the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory URL and the primary data store."

"Since version 10.4

how has the WebGISDR utility's requirement for identical items/settings across deployments changed?"

"What backup modes are available in WebGISDR?"

"Backup

"What does the Backup mode do?"

"Backs up the state of the organization

"What is the Full backup mode for?"

"Similar to Backup mode

"What is the Incremental backup mode for?"

"Includes only changes since the last full backup; useful for geographic replication and shorter backup/restore times."

"What is required before using Incremental mode with a new or updated data store?"

"A full backup and subsequent restore."

"What networking requirements must be met for WebGISDR to function?"

"Access to: 7443 endpoint of Portal for ArcGIS machine(s)

"Why might you still keep WebGISDR backups in a highly available deployment?"

"They provide recovery options if both primary and replicated deployments fail simultaneously."

"If a map service cache or hosted tile layer cache exists

what should you do before backup?"

"How do you backup file-based referenced data sources?"

"Make backup copies of the files manually."

"How do you backup database-based referenced data sources?"

"Use the tools of your database management system to create database backups."

"What must be done for spatiotemporal big data stores or graph stores?"

"Create backups using the ArcGIS Data Store backupdatastore utility."

"What factors increase the complexity of disaster recovery in ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"A growing deployment with multiple components and disparate systems forming the architecture."

"What is the purpose of having a BC/DR plan for ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"To define standard operating procedures for restoring the organization during a disaster recovery event."

"What components make up an ArcGIS Enterprise organization that should be backed up?"

"Portal for ArcGIS site

"What tool is included with Portal for ArcGIS for backing up the organization and federated sites?"

"The Web GIS Disaster Recovery (WebGISDR) command line utility."

"Which components require backups outside the WebGISDR process?"

"Federated ArcGIS Mission or Notebook Server sites

"Are ephemeral object stores used for feature layer response caching required in backups?"

"No

"Why should snapshots on virtual machines not be considered durable backups?"

"Because they are not integrated with the data-tier components and may risk consistency if taken on running databases."

"When using third-party or image-based backups

what precaution should be taken?"

"How can ArcGIS Data Store backups be handled to minimize data loss?"

"Back up relational and tile cache data stores separately from other components and schedule backups independently."

"What external data sources should be included in the disaster recovery plan?"

"Enterprise geodatabases

"Why must backups of enterprise geodatabases be aligned with the ArcGIS Enterprise deployment?"

"To prevent inconsistencies between published services and back-end database tables."

"How should network file shares be backed up?"

"Using image-based or file system-based backup tools and transferring to durable storage outside the failure domain."

"How should cloud stores be backed up for disaster recovery?"

"Replicate to another region or deploy to archive/cold storage for durability and cost efficiency."

"What factors influence how often backups should be taken?"

"Time required to complete the backup

"How frequently might a production enterprise geodatabase be backed up?"

"Incrementally every 15 minutes for a low recovery point objective."

"What is the purpose of validating backups?"

"To ensure backups completed successfully and are usable during a restore operation."

"How can WebGISDR exit codes be used in backup validation?"

"An exit code of zero indicates success

"Why should restore drills be performed regularly?"

"To ensure administrators are prepared to restore functional backups in a disaster."

"How long should backup files be retained?"

"At minimum

"Why must restored deployments match the software version and OS type?"

"Because WebGISDR records the software versions

"What is a key consideration when restoring only parts of an ArcGIS Enterprise deployment?"

"Ensure dependencies are available first; restoring only some components may require manual cleanup or republishing."

"What is the recommended order of restoring components in a disaster?"

"Restore referenced data sources first

"How should post-restore validation be conducted?"

"Use checklists for business-critical content or automated scripts to verify functionality and accuracy."

"How can backup and restore operations be automated?"

"Using Task Scheduler or similar scheduling software

"How can administrators verify the success of automated backups?"

"By parsing WebGISDR output files (JSON) for backup location

"What is the recovery point objective (RPO) and how does it influence backup scheduling?"

"RPO defines the acceptable amount of data loss; backups should be scheduled more frequently than the RPO interval."

"What components are included in an ArcGIS Enterprise backup file?"

"Portal items and settings

"What factors affect the size and creation time of a backup file?"

"Number of items in the portal

"What tool is used to create a backup of ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"The Web GIS Disaster Recovery (WebGISDR) tool with the export operation and a properties file."

"Where is the WebGISDR tool located?"

"In the Portal for ArcGIS tools directory

"What considerations should be made for the shared directory used for backups?"

"It must be large enough to contain the backup file; test exports can be used to estimate size and account for growth over time."

"What permissions are required for running the WebGISDR tool?"

"The domain account(s) running ArcGIS Server

"Where are temporary backups stored on each machine before being moved to the shared directory?"

"Portal: \\temp

"What must be enabled in the ArcGIS Data Store for incremental backups?"

"Point-in-time recovery."

"Why should antivirus scanning be considered when backing up portal content?"

"Real-time antivirus scanning can impact backup performance; consider excluding portal content and backup directories from scanning."

"What is the first step before creating a backup using WebGISDR?"

"Make a copy of the template properties file (webgisdr.properties)."

"Where is the template WebGISDR properties file installed by default?"

"C:\\Program Files\\ArcGIS\\Portal\\tools\\webgisdr."

"What should be done after copying the properties file?"

"Edit it to include site-specific information and save it; the PORTAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD will be encrypted when the tool runs."

"How is the WebGISDR tool executed for an export?"

"Open a command window on the Portal machine

"What is the format of the backup file created by WebGISDR?"

".webgissite

"What issue can occur if the tool appears to stall?"

"The command prompt may be in QuickEdit mode; disable QuickEdit to prevent stalling."

"What must be done if your organization includes map service or hosted tile caches?"

"Manually back up all directories where cache tiles are stored (e.g.

"What information is contained in the map cache directories?"

"Cache tiles

"Can the backup file created by WebGISDR be used to restore the organization?"

"Yes

"Why is it recommended to create backups regularly?"

"To guard against significant data loss and reduce downtime."

"How can backups be automated?"

"By scheduling WebGISDR operations using Task Scheduler or other scheduling software."

"What are the main runtime arguments for WebGISDR?"

"--export (-e) to create a backup

"What does the -f or --file argument specify?"

"The location of the properties file containing connection and backup/restore details."

"What is the optional -o or --output argument used for?"

"To create an output file for automated validation or administrator review of backup and restore operations."

"What happens to items or services created since the last backup when restoring ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"They will be lost because the restore uses the backup file created previously."

"Which components are not included in a WebGISDR backup and must be restored separately?"

"Map and tile service caches

"What must match between the source and target environment when restoring ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"The version of ArcGIS Enterprise and the type of operating system must match. For example

"How does WebGISDR handle restoring a highly available ArcGIS Enterprise deployment?"

"It maintains high-availability settings for all components."

"What is required if using incremental backups?"

"You must have the last full backup and the last incremental backup created before the incremental backup being restored."

"What permissions are required for the domain account running WebGISDR during restore?"

"Read access to BACKUP_LOCATION and write access to SHARED_LOCATION."

"What permissions are required for the domain account running ArcGIS Server

Portal

"What is recommended before restoring ArcGIS Enterprise?"

"Review best practices for restoring your organization."

"Where should the restore be performed?"

"On the same machines used to create the backup

"What should you do if you need to change properties for the restore?"

"Make a copy of the export properties file and update the desired settings for the import operation."

"How do you restore a specific backup file rather than the most recent one?"

"Update the BACKUP_LOCATION path in the properties file to point to the desired backup file."

"What is the default location of the WebGISDR tool?"

"C:\\Program Files\\ArcGIS\\Portal\\tools\\webgisdr."

"What is the command syntax to restore an ArcGIS Enterprise backup?"

"webgisdr --import --file "

"What issue may cause the restore tool to stall?"

"QuickEdit mode in the command prompt may cause the tool to stall."

"How are map service or hosted tile layer caches restored?"

"Manually move the backup copies to the original arcgiscache directory."

"How are spatiotemporal big data store or graph store backups restored?"

"Use the ArcGIS Data Store restoredatastore tool."

"What should you do if file-based data stored on a failed machine needs to be restored?"

"Place backup copies in the same directory path on the new machine as originally registered with ArcGIS Server."

"How are ArcGIS Mission Server or Notebook Server sites restored?"

"Follow the instructions in the ArcGIS Mission Server and Notebook Server documentation."

"How is ArcGIS GeoEvent Server restored?"

"Import the configuration to the federated site."

"In a properties file

what does PORTAL_ADMIN_URL specify?"

"What does BACKUP_RESTORE_MODE indicate in the properties file?"

"Whether the operation is a backup or restore."

"What does SHARED_LOCATION specify in the properties file?"

"The directory or storage location where component backups are temporarily staged for restore."

"What does BACKUP_STORE_PROVIDER indicate?"

"The type of storage provider for the backup

"What is required for Amazon S3 backups in the properties file?"

"Bucket name

"What is required for Azure Blob backups in the properties file?"

"Blob account name

"What must all components have regarding SHARED_LOCATION during restore?"

"At least read access to the path specified by SHARED_LOCATION."

"Why must portal content restored from cloud storage avoid VPC endpoints?"

"VPC endpoints can block outbound requests needed to restore the content from the cloud backup location."