Which directories should I backup on my Eclipse servers?

The following directories contain the most critical files necessary to recover your Eclipse systems:

  • Database server (AIX, RHEL):
    • /u2 (contains your Eclipse database, UniVerse, JBoss and VSIFAX)
    • /snap/u2 (if using snapshots, this contains the same data as above, but frozen in time)
    • /etc (contains your operating system configuration files)
    • /home (contains your users’ home directories)
    • /usr/spool/uv (contains your legacy UniVerse printer configuration files)
  • Forms server (Windows):
    • C:\Program Files\EclipseForms (contains your Eclipse Forms software)
    • C:\Users\All Users\Application Data\EclipseForms (contains your Eclipse Forms configuration files)
  • Internet Gateway (IGATE) server (Windows):
    • All shared directories containing Eclipse web sites (ex IIS shared directories, etc.)
  • Imaging server (Windows):
    • All shared directories containing Eclipse file shares (ex image attachments, signature scans, etc.)

The UniVerse database must be stopped or suspended during backup to ensure data consistency. The standard Eclipse backup scripts have been modified to use snapshots to allow backups to take place on active systems.

While backing up the directories below should be minimally sufficient to recreate your system in the event of a disaster, backing up the entire system is always recommended when possible. By backing up the entire system, you protect against the loss of miscellaneous files or those inadvertently placed outside of their standard locations.

Eclipse Network Utilization

We are often asked how much bandwidth is used by Eclipse for planning new deployments. Here are some guidelines for estimating the network utilization of Eclipse users based on real-world data we’ve gathered from existing Eclipse customers:

  • Solar customers: 3 KB/s (24 kbps) per user
  • Eterm customers: 1 KB/s (8 kbps) per user

As you can see, the bandwidth requirements for Eclipse are quite low, but it’s important to take into consideration that users’ Internet usage is not limited to Eclipse, and Eclipse performance will suffer if the software has to fight for bandwidth being used for other means (i.e. streaming video and audio, file sharing, etc.). As such, we recommend prioritizing the following protocols used by Eclipse through QoS whenever possible:

  • The Eterm client communicates using the telnet protocol (TCP port 23).
  • The Solar client communicates using a proprietary web service protocol (TCP ports 2080 and 2443).
  • The Eclipse signature capture and document imaging processes communicate over standard Microsoft file sharing protocols.
  • The Eclipse printing processes communicate over standard Windows and UNIX printer ports (i.e. socket, LPD, etc.).

During the initial Solar client installation and after each Eclipse “point” upgrade, the Solar client will perform a one-time download of approximately 20 MB of data. For branches with large numbers of users, this can cause a temporary spike in bandwidth consumption when a large number of users launch the new version of Solar for the first time.

For analyzing your users’ unique usage patterns, we recommend using your network hardware’s built-in tools bandwidth utilization monitoring, or by runningĀ Wireshark on a workstation.