Symptoms

The automatic backup service is failing, throwing a java.lang.IllegalArgumentException.

The following appears in the atlassian-jira.log:

2012-09-20 15:25:23,071 QuartzWorker-0 ERROR ServiceRunner    BackupService [service.services.export.ExportService] An exception while running the export service "BackupService": Unterminated quote
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unterminated quote
    at java.text.SimpleDateFormat.compile(Unknown Source)
    at java.text.SimpleDateFormat.initialize(Unknown Source)

Cause

There is an extra quote at the beginning of OPT_DATE_FORMAT service parameter, for example:

This is similar to JIRA Backup Fails with Illegal Pattern Character Error.

Resolution

Remove any extra quotes at the beginning of the OPT_DATE_FORMAT service parameter as per the steps below:

1. Log in as a user with the JIRA System Administrators global permission.
2. Select Administration > System > Advanced > Services (tab) to open the Services page, which lists the current services running on this system.
3. Edit the existing Backupservice which is already administered.
4. Update the date format to a valid format, removing the extra quote.
5. Click 'Update' to save the configuration.

Additionally, as per our Backing Up Data we recommend using native DBMS backup tools instead of the XML backup.