How do I back up my Websense filtering configuration

Problem Description

I want to back up my Websense filtering policies and configuration information. Which files should I back up? How should I perform the backup?

Resolution

Websense software includes a command-line Backup Utility that makes it easy to back up your Websense software settings and policy data, and to revert to a previous configuration. Data saved by the utility can also be used to import Websense configuration information after an upgrade.
The Websense Backup Utility saves:

• Global configuration information, including client and policy data, stored in the Policy Database.
• Local configuration information, such as Filtering Service and Log Server settings, stored by each Policy Server.
• Websense component initialization and configuration files.

You can manually initiate the backup process at any time, or schedule the backup process to run at a regular interval.
Backup files are given the name "wsbackup_yyyy-mm-dd_hhmmss.tar.gz", where yyyy-mm-dd represents the date and hhmmss represents the time that the file was created. The file is placed in the directory that you specify when running or scheduling the backup.

To run an immediate backup:

1. Open a command prompt on any machine that includes Websense filtering and reporting components.
2. Navigate to the appropriate directory:
   • Windows: C:\Program Files\Websense\bin (by default)
   • Linux: /opt/Websense (by default)
3. Enter the following command:
   • Windows:    wsbackup -b -d <directory>
   • Linux:    ./WebsenseTools -b -b -d <directory>
   Here, directory indicates the destination directory for the backup archive. Do not store backup files in the Websense directory structure.

The backup file is created and saved in the directory that you specified. The amount of time required for the backup depends on which Websense filtering components reside on the machine at the time of the backup.

To schedule backups:

IMPORTANT	On some operating systems, attempts to use the "-s" parameter to schedule backups fail. One workaround is to use a script to run a standard backup ("-b" parameter) at regular intervals. This article will be updated when more information is available.

1. Open a command prompt on any machine that includes Websense filtering and reporting components.
2. Navigate to the appropriate directory:
   • Windows: C:\Program Files\Websense\bin (by default)
   • Linux: /opt/Websense (by default)
3. Enter the following command:
   • Windows:    wsbackup -s -t "<minute> <hour> <day_of_month> <month> <day_of_week>" -d <directory>
   • Linux:    ./WebsenseTools -b -s -t "<minute> <hour> <day_of_month> <month> <day_of_week>" -d <directory>
   Refer to the table below to construct the appropriate command.

When you schedule backups, the time information uses crontab format. The quotation marks and spaces shown in the command example are required. Each parameter can take a numeric value (specified in the table below), an asterisk ("*") to indicate all, or a list of values (separated by commas). For example:
   wsbackup -s -t "31 1 * * 1,3,5" -d z:\backups\ws
Here, the backup is scheduled to run at 1:31 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, regardless of date, every month of the year. The backup file is stored in the "z:\backups\ws" directory.

Variable	Information
<minute>	0 - 59 Specify the precise minute to start the backup.
<hour>	0 - 23 Specify the general hour of the day to start the backup.
<day_of_month>	1 - 31 Specify the date to perform the backup. If you schedule a backup for days 29 - 31, the utility uses the standard substitution procedure for the operating system in months that do not include that date.
<month>	1 - 12 Specify the month to perform the backup.
<day_of_week>	0 - 6 Specify a day of the week. 0 represents Sunday.

Refer to any crontab reference for more information about valid scheduling parameters.

Related Articles:

• How do I restore my Websense filtering configuration?
• Which files does the Backup Utility save?

Notes & Warnings

• Do not store your backup files in the Websense bin directory. Store them in a safe location that is included in your organization's regular backup processes.
• Make sure that all administrators are logged out of Websense Manager before initiating a backup.
• When specifying a directory for the backup file, do not include a trailing slash ("C:\wsbackupfiles" not "C:\backups\").