BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide
Contents
Backup levels ................................................................................................................................. 2
1st level – Project and Library snapshots ..................................................................................... 3
Backup on BIMcloud Basic ........................................................................................................ 3
Backup on the client machines ................................................................................................. 3
Restore Snapshots on the Server ............................................................................................. 3
2nd level – Full BIMcloud Basic Data backup ................................................................................ 3
Outline of the full BIMcloud Basic Backup and Restore ......................................................... 4
Backup BIMcloud Basic Manager Data .................................................................................... 4
Backup BIMcloud Basic Module Data ...................................................................................... 4
Scheduling Backups ................................................................................................................... 6
Restore BIMcloud Basic Data .................................................................................................... 8
3rd level – Operating System snapshot ........................................................................................ 9
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 1
Backup levels
1st level – Project and Library snapshots
Data Backed up:
- Server data of Projects (BIMProject)
- PLN snapshots on the Server
- Each user’s Local Cache (PLA)
Useful:
- Recovery from a project data corruption event
- Duplication of project (exploring a new idea)
Frequency:
- Several times daily
2nd level – Full BIMcloud Basic Data backup
Data Backed up:
- BIM Server Manager data
- Server module data / BIMProject and BIMLibrary files
Useful:
- Recovery from entire BIMcloud data corruption event
- Duplication of BIMcloud on a different machine
Frequency:
- Daily – outside of work hours
3rd level - Operating System snapshot
Data Backed up:
- Snapshot of the Virtual Machine
Useful:
- when OS or computer hardware is damaged
Frequency:
- Daily or weekly – outside of work hours
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 2
1st level – Project and Library snapshots
Backup on BIMcloud Basic
• Snapshot options
Two options are available out of the box to save project backups onto the BIMcloud
Basic:
- Server data of project in .BIMProject format
- PLN backups uploaded to the BIMcloud Basic
• Scheduling snapshots
Snapshot schedule can be set up individually for all Projects in the BIMcloud Basic
Manager. If a server contains multiple large projects it is advised to define different
times for each in order to avoid peaks in the BIMcloud Basic hardware usage.
• Managing snapshots
Manage existing snapshots from the BIMcloud Basic Manager. Based on these any
project can be reverted to an earlier stage or imported on another server. Location of
snapshots on the server:
Windows: C:\Program Files\GRAPHISOFT\BIMcloud\Server-<installation-
date>\Projects\Project GUID\Backups
macOS: System drive/Applications/GRAPHISOFT/BIMcloud/Server-<installation-
date>/Projects/Project GUID/Backups
Backup on the client machines
Each user has a local copy of any joined project on their client machine. This local
cache is synchronized with the server data with every Send & Receive. The local data
along with its libraries can be saved off in PLA format to serve as a backup of the
project from that user’s perspective.
Restore Snapshots on the Server
Snapshots can be restored on the BIMcloud Basic by importing the BIMProject files in
the Manager interface. PLN and PLA backups can be restored by re-sharing these files
from ARCHICAD to the BIMcloud Basic.
2nd level – Full BIMcloud Basic Data backup
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 3
Outline of the full BIMcloud Basic Backup and Restore
1. Export Manager Data - copy configuration and user databases
2. Export Server Data – copy necessary Server folders to backup
3. Import - move the exported backup folders into a BIMcloud Basic installation
BIMcloud services must be stopped during the copying of folders so it is important to
schedule the backup to times that will least disturb users.
Backup BIMcloud Basic Manager Data
• Folders to be backed up
There are two folders that need to be copied to the backup AS IS:
- Config
- Data
Default location of these folders:
Windows: C:\Program Files\GRAPHISOFT\BIMcloud\Manager-<installation-date>
macOS: System drive/Applications/GRAPHISOFT/BIMcloud/Manager-<installation-date>
Note: It is possible to define an alternate location for the Data folder in the
BIMcloud Basic Manager. Make sure to include it in the backup.
• Run the backup with scripts
It is common to automate this process with a script. Scripts can also be scheduled to
run regularly, read more about this in the section: Scheduling Backups. Example scripts
can be downloaded together with the BIMcloud Basic Server scripts below.
Backup BIMcloud Basic Module Data
• Folders to be backed up
There are five folders in the BIMcloud Basic Server folder that need to be copied to
the backup AS IS when the BIMcloud Services are stopped:
- Attachments
- Config
- Mailboxes
- Projects
- Sessions
Default location of these folders:
Windows: C:\Program Files\GRAPHISOFT\BIMcloud\Server-<installation-date>
macOS: System drive/Applications/GRAPHISOFT/BIMcloud/Server-<installation-date>
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 4
Note: It is possible to define an alternate location for Projects and Attachments
folders of the BIMcloud Basic Server. Make sure to include these in the backup.
• Before performing the backup
The BIMcloud Basic Server’s service must be stopped before the files are copied.
Services can be stopped with the BIMcloud Basic Server Tray icon or with these
instructions. Copying the above folders may take a significant amount of time
therefore it is recommended to perform this backup outside of office hours.
• Run the backup with scripts
Instead of copying the folders manually, you can use a script to make this automated.
Scripts can also be scheduled to run regularly, read more about this in the section:
Scheduling Backups. Example scripts are available here both for Mac and PC.
These scripts contain stopping the service, backing up files and restarting the service.
The scripts provide some guidance about the process but should be augmented by
you to accommodate your site’s backup policy.
PC Script
1. Adjust path for ManagerDir, ManagerDataDir, ServerDir, ProjectDir,
LibraryDir ,localBkUp, ManagerService, ServerService. Make sure to also
update ManagerService and ServerService in v24StopManagerService.bat
and v24StopServerService.bat.
2. Run the script from an Administrator Command Prompt.
Mac script
1. Make the script executable on your machine. To do this open Terminal and
type chmod +x “/Path/For/The/Backup/Script.sh”.
2. Adjust path for ManagerDir, ManagerDataDir, ServerDir, ProjectDir,
LibraryDir, localBkUp, ManagerDaemon, ServerDaemon.
3. Run the script from Terminal with sudo prefix.
Please note that version number may be different from this example, based on the installed
BIMcloud Basic version (e.g. 2020.1 is running with the major version number v23, while
2020.2 is running with the major version number v24).
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 5
Scheduling Backups
Schedule PC Backup Scripts to Run Unattended
Use Windows Task Scheduler
• Open the Task Scheduler and create a new folder for the tasks, like BIMcloud Basic
• Within the folder right click and Create Task….
• General Tab:
o Name it for example Backup BIMcloud Basic Data
o Choose an Administrator user account that has a password which won’t
expire
o Choose to Run whether user is logged on or not
o Tick the Run with highest privileges checkbox
• Triggers Tab:
o New…
o Begin the task: On a schedule
o Specify the frequency and time to run (for example run daily at 10:00 pm)
o Make sure the Enabled checkbox is turned on, then OK the dialog
• Actions Tab:
o New…
o Action: Start a program
o Program/Script: Browse for the .bat file you would like to run.
o Start in: If your .bat file calls other files make sure to add the path here for
the folder where the scripts are located. If the folder is not specified here
only one bat file will run that is defined in the Program/Script field.
• After clicking OK on the Create Task dialog add your password as required for the
account that will run the task
Schedule Mac Backup Scripts to Run Unattended
Outline of scheduling a script to run on macOS:
1. Create a plist file that configures the time and environment in which the backup script
will run.
2. Give correct ownership for the plist file
3. Locate that plist file appropriately on the computer.
4. Start/Stop the daemon (background process) that runs the script on its schedule.
1. Create the plist file
The plist file is a daemon configuration file, here is a short description of the tags that can
be found in the plist:
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 6
- Label should be the name of the plist file minus the “plist” extension. It is used for
listing.
- ProgramArguments determines the location and name of the backup script that will
be run at the scheduled time.
- Nice determines the priority of scheduling the process. The lower the number the
more CPU percentage will be delegated to the process. Values can be set up between
-20 and 20. Value 1 used in the example scripts proved to perform the process quickly
and reliably.
- StartCalendarInterval determines when the backup script will be run:
o The com.example.BkUpDaily.plist file is set to run the backup script at
2:01AM daily. The clock is a 24 hour clock. If The Hour key had been left out it
would run on the first minute of every hour.
o The com.example.BkUpWeekly.plist file is set to run the backup script at
6:30PM on every Sunday. It uses the Weekday key. The days are numbered
starting with 0=Sunday, 1=Monday,… 6 =Saturday.
- WorkingDirectory, StandardErrorPath, and StandardOutPath are directories
where the script will work in, output its errors, and output its standard output
respectively.
The example plist files can be found here.
2. Change ownership for the plist file
Once downloaded the ownership of the plist file will be set for the user account you are
currently signed in with. However, the plist file will work correctly only if the owner is set to
the root. The owner can be changed by opening Terminal and typing the following:
sudo chown root:wheel “/Path/To/The/example.plist”
Hit Return to execute the command and enter the admin password when requested to
make the change.
3. Locating the plist file on the computer
It also matters where the plist file is located on the computer. The launchd daemon looks
for plist files in several places. There are two useful places to put plists for backup
scheduling: ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
The user specific LaunchAgents directory is a good place for initial testing. When a user logins
into the computer the LaunchAgents directory is automatically searched and the plist files
that are there are used to configure the environment. The background processes controlled
in this case will only run as long as the user is logged into the machine.
On the other hand, the LaunchDaemons directory will be searched when the computer is
first started and these plist configurations will remain intact for as long as the computer is
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 7
running. So, the LaunchDaemons directory should be used in general when you are
confident of your backup scripts.
4. Starting/Stopping the daemon controlled processes
The plist file will start working only after its daemon controlled background process is loaded
into the OS. To load a plist file use one of the following Terminal commands (depending on
where you placed your plist file):
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/Example.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/Example.plist
If there is a need to stop the script that is configured by the plist, it must be unloaded. The
control is done with the following Terminal commands:
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/Example.plist
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/Example.plist
If you would like to modify the plist file after its loaded you will have to unload it first, make
the change and then load it again. The sudo command is necessary only if the service is
run as a system wide process. Also note the directory where the plist has been placed.
Restore BIMcloud Basic Data
• Before performing the restore
BIMcloud Basic Data files can only be restored into a clean installation that has exactly
the same configuration settings, and installation paths as the original. It is best if this
computer has the same name and IP address as the original, otherwise some
relinking such as libraries and hotlinks will be necessary.
• Restore process
Both the BIMcloud Basic Manager and Server services need to be stopped for the
time of the restore. Stop services from the BIMcloud Basic Tray icon.
Stop BIMcloud services/daemons
Overwrite the following BIMcloud Manager folders from Backup:
…/BIMcloud/Manager-<installation-date>/Config
…/BIMcloud/Manager-<installation-date>/Data
Overwrite the following BIMcloud Server folders from Backup:
…/BIMcloud/Server-<installation-date>/Attachments
…/BIMcloud/Server-<installation-date>/Config
…/BIMcloud/Server-<installation-date>/Mailboxes
…/BIMcloud Server-<installation-date>/Projects
…/BIMcloud Server-<installation-date>/Sessions
Restart the BIMcloud Basic Manager and Server services/daemons.
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 8
3rd level – Operating System snapshot
The host computer together with the BIMcloud is backed up or image taken by first stopping
the BIMcloud services. The method is simply:
- stop BIMcloud Basic services/daemons
- perform the backup
- start BIMcloud Basic services/daemons
Upon restoring the Virtual Machine image or replicating the server onto another machine
the original Fully Qualified Domain Name must be assigned to the new server for the
restored BIMcloud to work seamlessly as its source BIMcloud did.
BIMcloud Basic Backup Guide 9
