Backing up data
This section describes how to back up your Jira database and [shared] home directory, and establish processes for maintaining continual backups. Backing up your data is the first step in upgrading to a new release of Jira or converting your existing single-node installation to a clustered Data Center configuration.
Creating a complete backup of Jira involves both backing up the database and the Jira application [shared] home directory.
The following pages describe the details of backing up specific parts of Jira and using the built-in database backup service to perform automated, periodical backups of the database:
Backing up the database
Jira stores its application data (such as issues, change history, or project information) in the database you connected during installation. To keep that data safe, use one of the methods described on this page to back up the database.
Configuring automatic database backups
When you install Jira and complete the run the setup wizard, an database backup service will run automatically every 12 hours by default. The backup service generates a complete XML snapshot of database contents and saves it inside a compressed ZIP archive into the predefined export subdirectory of the Jira [shared] home directory. You can add additional backup services that run on different schedules, update existing service configurations, or disable automatic backups.
Preventing user access during XML database backups
If you perform an XML backup (for example, when upgrading Jira applications or migrating them to another server), you can use one of the methods described on this page to prevent users from accessing Jira applications and minimize inconsistencies in the backup file.
Backing up the home directory
Because the Jira [shared] home directory contains key runtime data that determines the way Jira works, how it looks, and the information it displays, it’s crucial that you keep an up-to-date backup of its contents.