Backing up LoggerNet

As with any computer system that contains important information, the data stored in the LoggerNet working directory should be backed up to a secure archive on a regular basis. This is a prudent measure in case a file becomes corrupted, the hard disk crashes, or the computer suffers some other hardware failure that prevents access to the stored data on the disk.

The maximum interval for backing up data files depends primarily on the amount of data maintained in the datalogger memory. The datalogger’s final storage is configured as ring memory that will overwrite itself once the storage area or table is full. If the data is backed up more often than the oldest records in the datalogger are overwritten, a complete data record can still be maintained by restoring the data from the backup and then re-collecting the newest records from the datalogger.

LoggerNet provides several ways to back up the Network Map and data files. A manual backup can be performed at any time by selecting Manual Backup from the Setup Screen Backup menu. You can set up LoggerNet to perform scheduled backups on a user-defined interval by selecting Scheduled Backup from the Setup Screen Backup menu. Finally, a backup can be performed automatically by setting up a task in LoggerNet Task Master. This can be useful to perform a backup every time a certain event type occurs. (The Task Master can also be used to perform scheduled backups, but that function is performed more easily using the Scheduled Backup menu item described above.) See Example #2 under Task Master for additional information on using the Task Master to perform an automatic backup.

A backup file created using any of the above methods can be used to restore the LoggerNet network by selecting Restore Network from the Setup Screen Backup menu. Note that this process DOES NOT append to the existing network. The existing network will be overwritten when the restore is performed.