Getting started with Backup and Restore

Applies to: VisualSVN Server 3.6 and later

VisualSVN Server provides the Backup and Restore feature to help administrators safeguard the Subversion repositories. The feature allows you to efficiently make a backup of the repositories that contains full revision history, repository settings, hook scripts and user access rules.

The repository Backup and Restore feature enables administrators to perform the following operations:

Make one-time repository backup
Schedule automatic repository backup
Restore repository from backup

Making one-time repository backup

VisualSVN Server includes a manual one-time full backup command. This command helps administrators to backup the Subversion repositories when needed, for example before performing maintenance operations on the repositories. You can use the Backup Repository wizard in the VisualSVN Server Manager console or run the Backup-SvnRepository PowerShell cmdlet.

To make a full one-time repository backup via the VisualSVN Server Manager console, follow these steps:

Start the VisualSVN Server Manager console.
Double-click Repositories to expand the list of repositories.
Right-click the repository to backup.
Click Backup Repository.
Follow the wizard to complete the task.

Scheduling automatic repository backup jobs

VisualSVN Server allows administrators to add background jobs to automatically back up the repositories on a pre-defined schedule. The scheduled backup jobs support full and incremental repository backup types:

Full backup. Scheduled full backup captures the entire repository as a single self-contained file per repository. Full repository backup requires more storage space and more time to complete than the incremental backup type.
Incremental backup. Scheduled incremental backup captures only the changes made in the repository since the last backup. Incremental backup makes a full backup once a week and successive incremental daily backups that contain only the changes made since the last backup.

You can add a scheduled backup job by running a wizard in the VisualSVN Server Manager console:

Start the VisualSVN Server Manager console.
Right-click Jobs and click Create Backup Repository Job. A wizard dialog opens.
Follow the wizard to complete the task.

Restoring repository from a backup

VisualSVN Server includes a command to restore a repository from backup. You can use the Restore Repository wizard in the VisualSVN Server Manager console or run the Restore-SvnRepository PowerShell cmdlet. The procedure to restore the repository is the same regardless of the backup type used.

To restore the repository from a backup via the VisualSVN Server Manager console, follow these steps:

Start the VisualSVN Server Manager console.
Right-click Repositories.
Click Restore Repository.
Follow the wizard to complete the task.

Note

Restoring a backup creates a new copy of the repository, i.e. it will not affect already existing repositories. You can select a full or an incremental backup file to restore from, and this selected backup file defines the restore point. That is, the restored state of the repository will correspond to the date and time when this specific selected backup was created, which is normally indicated as a timestamp in the name of the backup file.

Typically, you would want to restore from the repository's most recent backup file. If you select an older backup file, the repository will be restored to that older state and will only contain commits up to that time and date. For a more detailed description, see KB238: Selecting a backup file to restore from.

Getting started with Backup and Restore

Making one-time repository backup

Scheduling automatic repository backup jobs

Restoring repository from a backup

See also