Backup of system image files
The system stores all information relating to the models, namespaces and Node object configuration in an image file. If you encounter problems with hardware failure or file corruption, or if you wish to migrate your system to new hardware, it is possible to restore your full system using the image file itself or a backup of the image file.
Each AspenTech Inmation Node object has an image file that is created in the img directory under the Node object’s configured data directory (e.g. 'C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\inmation.root.default\state\img' for the default instance) and has the extension '.lmdb'. The image file contains all the data regarding your system configuration including model trees and object configurations. A backup of the image file should be created regularly to provide data security in the event of any hardware failure or system corruption.
| It is recommended to only restore image backups of top-level nodes. Restoring images of child nodes can lead to inconsistent behaviour. Restoring images should be done using the reset and restore. |
| The image file does not contain historical data for objects, only configuration data. |
Creating Image Backups
Copying the Image File
Backups of image files can be created manually by simply making copies of the image files to a new location.
| The lmdb image file contains sensitive information and should only be stored in a secure location that requires administrator access. |
Using Lua Scripting
Image backups can also be made with Lua Scripting by using the syslib.dumpimage() function. This function will create a backup of the image file and requires a valid path, to an existing directory where the backup file will be created. For example:
local ok, err = syslib.dumpimage("D:\\backups")
return ("ok: %s, err: %s"):format(ok, err)This command creates a backups of the Node object’s image file called node.lmdb in "D:/backup". If a file called `node.lmdb`already exists, it will be overwritten by the new file (but only if a new lmdb can be successfully generated in its place).
If the directory path is not valid, an error message will be returned.
Restoring the system from image reset
| It is recommended to only restore image backups of top-level nodes. Restoring images of child nodes can lead to inconsistent behaviour. |
If you encounter a problem with a Node object that is not solved by restarting the Node, a reset of the image is recommended before taking any further restoration steps as this often solves the issue. It also ensures that there is no inadvertent data loss or purging of the Store and Forward buffer.
Image reset is possible for non top-level Nodes. This is because the image files for child Nodes can be recreated from the top-level Node img file using this image reset process (naturally, the top-level Node image is only contained in the image file for that Node itself, therefore it cannot be reset in this way).
| It is always recommended to make a backup copy of the files in the img directory before resetting the image file. |
The steps below describe how to reset a Node object’s image from the command line.
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Stop the AspenTech Inmation Node Service in the Windows Task Manager or Services app.
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Open a terminal in the bin directory of the AspenTech\inmation.root folder and enter the following command:
inmation.exe --reset image -
This removes the image file and creates a new default image for the Node object.
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Restart the Node service in Task Manager or Services.
Restoring the system from image file
| It is recommended to only restore image backups of top-level nodes. Restoring images of child nodes can lead to inconsistent behaviour. Restoring images should be first attempted using the reset and restore. |
If Restoring the System from image reset does not solve the problem, then restoring from a backup image file should be attempted.
The exact steps to restore your system from an image file will depend on the exact situation and reasons for the restore. These are general guidelines for restoring the system and may require more or fewer steps depending on the situation.
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Stop any AspenTech Inmation Node Services (if any are running) in the Windows Task Manager or Services app
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Locate the AspenTech\inmation.root directory on the hard drive
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Copy the image backup file ('*.lmdb') to the img folder
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Restart the AspenTech Inmation Node Services and check to see that they remain running
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Attempt to connect to the Node object with WebStudio and check the communication status
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Check the log for information or errors
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