Full backup and restore (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)

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Applies to: FAST Search Server 2010

A full backup includes the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint installation folder and the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint administration database, and you can choose to include or exclude the searchable index in the full backup.

A full restore sets the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint farm back to the state it had at the time of backup. A full restore can also be used to recover and re-deploy the farm after a disaster.

You should combine the backup of FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint with a Microsoft SharePoint Server backup to ensure that both systems work as expected after a restore. The searchable index and the state of the Content Search Service Application (Content SSA) must be synchronized to avoid duplicates and search problems.

Before you start a full backup or restore procedure, see Plan the backup and restore strategy (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint) and Backup and restore prerequisites (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint).

In this article:

  • Make a full backup

  • Copy the backup of the administration database to the backup store

  • Restore a full backup

  • Restore certificates

Make a full backup

  1. On the main SharePoint server, run the following commands to pause the SharePoint Server Content SSA:

    $ssa = Get-SPenterpriseSearchServiceApplication "<FAST Search Content SSA>"
$ssa.Pause()

  2. Back up the SharePoint Server farm. See Back up a farm in SharePoint Server 2010 for more information.

  3. On the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint administration server, follow these steps (you can do this in parallel with step 2):

    1. Open a Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint shell as administrator.

    2. At the command prompt, browse to <FASTSearchFolder>\bin.

      Where <FASTSearchFolder> is the path of the folder where you have installed FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, for example C:\FASTSearch.

    3. Suspend the services:

      .\suspend.ps1

      Note

      The suspend.ps1 script suspends the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint feeding and indexing chain, but does not suspend the query processing and query matching components.

    4. Run the backup script:

      .\backup.ps1 -action full -backuppath <UNC path of backup store(s)> (-excludeindex)

      The script will prompt you for a password to authenticate itself to remote resources. To run the script without having to enter a password, use the -passwordfile option to specify a file that contains a saved password. See Run scripts with a saved password for more information.

      Note

      If you want to exclude the searchable index from the backup, use the -excludeindex option.

    5. When the script has completed, resume the services:

      .\resume.ps1

  4. On the SharePoint server, resume the SSA by running the following command:

    $ssa.Resume()

Copy the backup of the administration database to the backup store

The administration database backup file is generated locally on the SQL Server, and is not stored in the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint backup store. To maintain a complete backup file set, you should copy the database backup to the backup store after you run the backup script.

There can be several SQL Server backup files in the SQL Server folder. You can find the exact name of your SQL Server backup file in the dbbackup.txt file in the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint backup store. You can also find more information about the SQL Server backup process in the SQLServerMetaData.txt file in the backup store. The lines that contain BackupDirectory and NetName display the path and host name for the SQL Server.

  1. Locate the database backup file in the SQL Server folder.

  2. Copy the file to the backup store.

Restore a full backup

  1. On the main SharePoint server, to disable updates of managed properties in the Content SSA, run these commands:

    $extractorJob = Get-SPTimerJob | where {$_.Name.StartsWith("FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Alternate Access Mapping Extractor Job")}
Disable-SPTimerJob $extractorJob

  2. Restore the SharePoint Server farm. See Restore a farm in SharePoint Server 2010 for more information.

  3. On the main SharePoint server, run these commands to pause the Content SSA:

    $extractorJob = Get-SPTimerJob | where {$_.Name.StartsWith("FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Alternate Access Mapping Extractor Job")}
Enable-SPTimerJob $extractorJob
$ssa = Get-SPenterpriseSearchServiceApplication "<FAST Search Content SSA>"
$ssa.Pause()

  4. On all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers, stop the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint services:

    Stop-Service FASTSearchService
Stop-Service FASTSearchMonitoring

  5. When all services have stopped, on the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint administration server, run the restore script:

    1. Open a Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint shell as administrator.

    2. At the command prompt, browse to <FASTSearchFolder>\bin.

      Where <FASTSearchFolder> is the path of the folder where you have installed FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, for example C:\FASTSearch.

    3. Run the following command:

      .\restore.ps1 -action full -backuppath <UNC path of backup store(s)>

      The script will prompt you for a password to authenticate itself to remote resources. To run the script without having to enter a password, use the -passwordfile option to specify a file that contains a saved password. See Run scripts with a saved password for more information.

  6. When the script has completed, on all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers, start FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint services by running these commands:

    Start-Service FASTSearchService
Start-Service FASTSearchMonitoring

  7. On the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint administration server, resume the services that were suspended during the backup:

    .\resume.ps1

  8. On the SharePoint Server, resume the Content SSA:

    $ssa.ForceResume($ssa.IsPaused())

After restoring the SharePoint Server and FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint farms, consider updating the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint back-end with any backlog of click-through data from the SharePoint Server front-end. See Resend backlog clicks for more information.

If you have restored the backup to a reinstalled FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint or SharePoint Server system, you must restore the certificates for SharePoint Server and FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint as described in Restore certificates.

Restore certificates

The FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint full backup and restore process does not handle certificates. You must manually replace the certificates after reinstalling and restoring a FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint farm.

Depending on whether the backed up FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint installation used the default FASTSearchCert or a certificate signed by a certification authority, follow the steps in one of these sections:

  • Restore certificate configuration when the backed up installation used the self-signed FASTSearchCert certificate

  • Restore certificate configuration when the backed up installation used certificates signed by certification authority

Restore certificate configuration when the backed up installation used the self-signed FASTSearchCert certificate

  1. On all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers, stop the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint services:

    Stop-Service FASTSearchService
Stop-Service FASTSearchMonitoring

  2. On the SharePoint server, verify that there are no FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint certificates from the previous installation:

    1. Run the Microsoft Management Console (mmc.exe).

    2. Use Add or Remove Snap-ins to add the Certificates snap-in for the account on the Local Computer.

    3. Use Find certificates to search for a certificate that contains the word FAST. Remove any such certificate on all SharePoint servers by right-clicking and selecting Delete.

  3. On all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers, verify that there are no existing SharePoint certificates. Repeat step 2 on all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers, and delete any certificates that contains the word sharepoint.

  4. You can now set up the new certificates on all servers. First, you must set up the certificate on the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint administration server:

    1. Open a Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint shell as administrator.

    2. At the command prompt, browse to <FASTSearchFolder>\installer\scripts.

      Where <FASTSearchFolder> is the path of the folder where you have installed FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, for example C:\FASTSearch.

    3. Run the following command:

      .\replacedefaultcertificate.ps1 -generateNewCertificate $true

    4. Start the FAST Search for SharePoint service by running the following command:

      Start-Service FASTSearchService

  5. Repeat step 4 on the remaining FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers. Use the same password for the certificate that you used on the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint administration server.

  6. Copy the SecureFASTSearchConnector.ps1 script from <FASTSearchFolder>\installer\scripts to the SharePoint Server.

  7. Copy the recently created FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint certificate from <FASTSearchFolder>\data\data_security\cert\FASTSearchCert.pfx to the SharePoint Server.

  8. On the SharePoint Server, run the SecureFASTSearchConnector.ps1 script that you copied in step 6:

    SecureFASTSearchConnector.ps1 -certPath <path of FASTSearchCert.pfx> -ssaName "<FAST Search Content SSA>" -username "<domain\username>"

    Make sure that the ssaName matches the SSA that you set up in the SharePoint Server installation.

  9. Export the SharePoint Server certificate (not to be confused with the previous FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint certificate):

    1. In a SharePoint Server shell, run the following commands:

      $stsCert = (GetSPSecurityTokenServiceConfig).LocalLoginProvider.SigningCertificate
$stsCert.Export("cert") | Set-content -Encoding byte MOSS_STS.cer

    2. Copy the resulting MOSS_STS.cer file to all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers.

  10. On all FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint servers, open a Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint shell as administrator, and run the following command:

    <FASTSearchFolder>\installer\scripts\installSTSCertificateForClaims.ps1 -certPath '<path of MOSS certificate...\MOSS_STS.cer>'

  11. Restart FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint and SharePoint servers to make sure that the new certificates are being used.

Restore certificate configuration when the backed up installation used certificates signed by certification authority

  1. To replace the self-signed FASTSearchCert certificate, see Replace the self-signed certificate with a certificate signed by a certification authority (CA).

  2. To reinstall the SharePoint claims certificate on each FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint query server, see Configure claims authentication.

See Also

Concepts

Backup and restore (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)
Configuration backup and restore (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)

Other Resources

Back up search in SharePoint Server 2010
Restore search in SharePoint Server 2010