Back-up and Disaster Recovery Procedure for UnitySync Hub Server

A common configuration for large UnitySync implementations is the Hub/Spoke configuration. This configuration uses a Hub server, which will contain all synced contacts. Numerous Spoke directories sync into the Hub Server, creating a Master directory. Another set of connections are then used to sync all the contacts from the Hub out to all the Spoke directories. In this scenario, it is also common for UnitySync to be loaded on the Hub server itself (although this isn’t required).

Creating a Backup of your UnitySync Installation and Configuration

No matter what size or configuration model you use with UnitySync, it is always recommended you backup the UnitySync install directory itself. This simple procedure includes zipping the UnitySync installation directory (i.e. c:\UnitySync). This includes everything you need to restore the current state of your UnitySync configuration, program files, connection data, custom files, key etc. When needed, this may be unzipped to restore your UnitySync installation/configuration files.

Using UnitySync to restore a Master Directory on the fly

It is not necessary to have a Master Directory. If your Hub Server goes off line, your UnitySync connections can be used to rebuild your Master Directory with no more time than it takes to run each of your Spoke-to-Hub connections once. When your Hub Server fails, do the following:

1. If necessary, restore the UnitySync Installation and configuration using the Backup/Restore procedure.
2. If the UnitySync software was restored to a NEW location, you will need to Request a Key Change to allow you to run UnitySync from this new server.
3. If you are rebuilding the Master on a new Server (IP), you will need to
   1. Request a Key Change to allow you to sync this new IP
   2. Modify every connection’s Source or Destination IP information to identify the IP of the new Master Directory Server.
4. Delete \data for every connection.
5. Run your Spoke-to-Hub connection to rebuild your Master Directory.
6. Run your Hub-to-Spoke connections twice.
7. Resume syncing Spoke-to-Hub and Hub-to-Spoke connections as usual.

Create and maintain a back-up Master Directory

Creating and maintaining a back-up Master Directory is not required or recommended. You really need only back-up your UnitySync installation/configuration files (as above). This is all you need to restore and rebuild your Master Directory and resume syncing.

If you decide you do desire a back-up Master Directory, this requires you implement an additional Master Directory and Hub server. The back-up Master will be synced regularly with the primary Master, to maintain a current copy of your Master Directory. If you have UnitySync installed on your Hub server, then the above mentioned UnitySync Backup procedures could be used to regularly backup your Hub server UnitySync implementation to the back-up, as well.

Note: You will need additional licensing to cover the UnitySync software installation on the Backup Master server. You will also need an additional IP license to cover the backup Hub server. Contact sales@dirwiz.com to request a quote for additional copies of UnitySync and/or additional directories.

Points to Consider

• You will need to create a connection to sync your entire Master Directory to the back-up Hub Server (i.e., Master-to-Backup)
  • On the Source tab, this connection should:
    • identify the IP/login info of the Primary Master Directory.
    • use a Selection DN that identifies the root of the Master’s sync directory.
  • On the Destination tab, this connection should:
    • identify the IP/login info of the Backup Master Directory.
    • use a Placement DN / Structname to sync to the same root container name as appears on your Primary Master.
    • use Levels=All to reproduce the exact structure.
• Run your Master-to-Backup connection regularly to keep it up to date.
• When your Master Hub Server goes off line:
  • Restore the UnitySync software/configuration from the latest backup. (You should not need to make a key request as you should already have a key that includes your backup server/IP information, per #1 above.)
  • Modify every connection’s Source or Destination IP information as necessary to identify the IP of the new (Backup) Master Directory Server y.
  • Delete \data for every connection.
  • Run your Spoke-to-Hub connection twice.
  • Run your Hub-to-Spoke connections twice.
  • Resume syncing Spoke-to-Hub and Hub-to-Spoke connections as usual.