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      Disaster Recovery

      Learn about files and backup files, including Docker Volumes, for disaster recovery best practices.

      Disaster Recovery (DR)

      File Types and Purposes

      Best Practice: Docker Volumes

      Best Practice: Windows Backup

      Disaster Recovery

      Hardware failure, data corruption, cyberattacks, and natural disasters happen, so it's good to have a plan that reduces data corruption, loss or compromise. Disaster Recovery in the context of a time series database like Timebase refers to restoring historical time-stamped data and system functionality after a catastrophic event. We recommend dataset backup as the primary method and best practice for Timebase datasets. logs, and configuration settings.

      File Types and Purposes

      The following file types are most important when considering disaster recovery and backing up files.

      • .txt is a text formatted file used for purposes such as logs and detailed logs
      • .data files are history blocks for numeric and Boolean values, created hourly
      • .state files are history files are for maintaining the current state of a dataset
      • .object files are history blocks for object values (e.g. strings, json blobs, arrays, etc.), created hourly
      • tag.config files contain tag id linked to data stored int the .data and .object files, this file must be recovered with your data files!
      • The dataset.state file maintains the current state of the dataset, which is used on dataset initialization to determine whether any hourly history block recovery is required
      • The tag.state file maintains the current state of each tag in the dataset, which is used on dataset initialization 
      • settings.config is where you can change default directories or drives, logging, and monitoring configurations, and Kestrel network settings. For information, see Time Series Historian Settings

      Your tag.config file is just as important as your .data and .object files. Without it, tag data cannot be referenced in your data files

      Best Practice: Docker Volumes

      We recommend using Docker Volumes for data persistence and backup. Bind mounts are still an option, but please review our Docker Compose file and the Docker Volumes documentation for further information.

      Best Practice: Windows Backup

      We recommend creating file backups in a shared external drive/location. If you are testing Timebase, you can use a solution like OneDrive to backup your files and create schedules. We always recommend consulting your IT department regarding your company's file backup and drive/location procedures. 

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