Backup and Maintenance

This page covers routine administrative tasks, maintenance routines, and update procedures for hroot.

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Database Backup & Restoration (Docker)

Backup Database

Execute this command on the host server to export a compressed SQL dump of the database:

docker compose exec db mysqldump -u hroot -p hroot_production > backup_$(date +%F).sql

Restore Database

To restore a backup file to the database container:

cat backup.sql | docker compose exec -T db mysql -u hroot -p hroot_production

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Update Procedures (Minor / Patch Updates)

For a complete and detailed walkthrough of all update scenarios (including major upgrades, background jobs, and migrating to Docker), see Updating an existing installation.

Docker-based Instances

1. Backup database:

   docker compose exec db mysqldump -u hroot -p${DATABASE_PASSWORD} ${DATABASE_NAME:-hroot_production} > backup_$(date +%F).sql

2. Pull latest code:

   git pull

3. Rebuild & restart containers:

   docker compose up -d --build

4. Run database migrations:

   docker compose exec web bundle exec rake db:migrate RAILS_ENV=production

Manual (Bare-Metal) Installations

1. Backup database:

   mysqldump -u <db_user> -p <db_name> > backup_$(date +%F).sql

2. Pull latest code:

   git pull

3. Install gems:

   bundle install

4. Run database migrations:

   RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake db:migrate

5. Recompile assets:

   RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake assets:clobber
   RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake assets:precompile

6. Update cronjobs:

   RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec whenever --update-crontab

7. Restart application server:

   touch tmp/restart.txt  # for Passenger
   # or: sudo systemctl restart apache2 / nginx / puma

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IT Administration Checklist

If hroot is configured to send emails using a university address space (e.g., @uni-hamburg.de), the university IT department must configure:

1. Outbound Firewall Permission: Ensure outbound traffic on port 25 (or alternative SMTP ports like 465/587) is allowed for the server's IP address.
2. SPF Record: The server's public IP address must be added to the university domain's SPF record as an authorized mail sender to prevent messages from ending up in spam folders.
3. SMTP Relay Server (Recommended): Request a dedicated SMTP relay from your IT department to handle message signing and delivery centrally.