How to Create a Backup of DNN and The Database

This topic is very important and requires a bit of planning, especially if you do not have direct access to your database server to perform your own backups. In the following sections I will first talk about what you must backup and why some of those items are very important. I will then discuss how to perform a DNN backup and SQL Server backup.  Finally I will discuss options available for third party modules for performing backups for individuals that do not have direct access to their servers.

What to Backup?

Simply put, it is a best practice to backup your entire DotNetNuke directory on the web server as well as a full backup of the database. Some people will say that you can get by with only backing up the "portals" folder, this is not correct! To successfully restore a DotNetNuke installation you must ensure that you have all module .dll and other code files you also must have the same validation and decryption keys.  I have found that the only real method to keep your data safe is to create a backup with all files.  Given the limited file size of the core DNN installation I have not found this to be a hinderance, especially since the additional files that exist in my website are all related to the content available within and is something I must have a backup.

Performing The Backup

Performing a backup of DotNetNuke is a fairly easy two step process. First I will discuss backing up the DNN installation directory, then I will discuss options available for backing up the database.

Backing up The DotNetNuke Directory

You have two options when backing up the DotNetNuke directory. If you have direct access to the server, you can simply right click on the DotNetNuke directory and select "Send To:" -> "Compressed (Zipped) Folder". This applies for most versions of the windows operating system. You will then have a file named dnn441.zip where dnn441 was your directory name. This zip file will contain all needed backup files, you will want to store this in a safe location.

If you do not have direct access to the server and can only access it via FTP you will have an additional step to obtain a zip file for your site. You will want to connect to your FTP site and COPY all files to a temporary location on your local computer. Once all files have been copied you will want to create a zip file including ALL files and folders that were just downloaded.

NOTE: if using a program such as WinZip for zipping, ensure that the "Use Folder Names" option is enabled so that the folder structure is preserved within your zip archive.

Backing up The DotNetNuke Database

To backup the database you must have access to the database server and the file system of the database server. If you are in a hosted environment you will need to rely on your hosting provider to obtain a backup, or you will need to look into a potential third party solution to backup the database from within DotNetNuke. If you have full access to the server please use one of the below sets of instructions to backup your database..

Backing up a Database with SQL Server and Enterprise Manager

Follow the below steps if you wish to create a databse backup file from Enterprise Manager for SQL Server using Enterprise Manager.

• Navigate to your specific database in Enterprise Manager
  
• Right click on the database and select "All Tasks" -> "Backup Database.."
  
• Ensure that "Complete" is selected for the backup type
  
• Click the "Add" button in the "Destination" section
  
• In this section provide a full file path to the desired backup file, typically named databasename.bak where databasename is your database name
  
• Click "Ok" to generate your backup, you will receive a success notice upon completion
  
• You will now have a full backup file containing all tables and data for your database.

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How to Use the Text DotNetNuke Skin Object

DotNetNuke is a web content management system based on Microsoft .NET. The DNN Platform Edition is open source. DNN is designed for multi-tenancy and supports an unlimited number of websites, either as root websites or for portals in a parent-child configuration. The platform's skinning feature separates content from design-related files for easier customization. Skins make it simple to maintain a common look and structure across related sites without advanced programming knowledge. DNN's core functionality can be expanded with modules for common elements, such as those for e-commerce. The software enables parent-child website resource sharing and management using specially-formed symbolic links.

What is a Skin Object?

First of all, a skin object is an ASP.Net user control that is used in DNN skins to provide a limited feature.  For example, the search box, menu, login link, copyright statement, and more, are all skin objects.  They allow a skin designer to include dynamic content without having to know how to build the content itself, or knowing any programming.

Other than the previous description, this post will assume that you know how to create and package your own skin.

Text Skin Object

The Text skin object itself is a very useful feature in skinning, as it allows you to include localized text, while not having to create a copy of the skin for each language, or using any other number of workarounds.

For example, if you have static text next to your login skin object that says, “Welcome, “ then you might want to have alternatives for another language, if you plan to support it.

I am going to use that example for the rest of this post.

The Code

There is minimal code needed to implement the Text skin object.  If you’re using an HTML skin, then you would simply need to do the following:

<object id="dnnTEXT-Welcome" codetype="dotnetnuke/server" codebase="TEXT">

    <param name="Text" value="Welcome, " />

    <param name="CssClass" value="NormalBold" />

    <param name="ResourceKey" value="Welcome.Text" />

    <param name="ReplaceTokens" value="False" />

</object>

If you are using a ASCX skin, then you would need two updates.  First, put this line of code into the top section of the source:

<%@ Register TagPrefix="dnn" TagName="TEXT" Src="~/Admin/Skins/Text.ascx" %>

Next, put this code into the appropriate spot of the source in the skin:

<dnn:TEXT runat="server" id="dnnTEXT-Welcome" Text="Welcome, "

CssClass="NormalBold" ResourceKey="Welcome.Text" ReplaceTokens="False" />

Resource Files

Next, you need to make sure your skin has resource files.  In your skin package, you should have a folder namedApp_LocalResources.  This folder will contain the necessary files to tell your skin the appropriate text to use for the skin object when the specific language is asked for during page request life cycle.

If your skin file is named index.ascx or index.html, then your default resource file for English would be namedindex.ascx.resx.  If your additional supported language is French, your filename might be index.fr-FR.ascx.resx.

The English file code would be something like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<root>

  <data name="Welcome.Text">

    <value>Welcome, </value>

  </data>

</root>

The respective code for the French language file might look like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<root>

  <data name="Welcome.Text">

    <value>Accueil, </value>

  </data>

</root>

Text Skin Object Properties Explained

There are a few properties that you’ve seen in the previous examples that you might be wondering about.  Here is an explanation of those properties:

• Runat – (required, ASCX only) The value must be ‘server’ 
  
• Id – (required) This is a unique name for the tag, much like in standard HTML 
  
• Text – (optional) This value will be used as the default, should an appropriate resources file for the current language not be found 
  
• CssClass – (optional) This value is the name of a CSS class that will be available to the rendered HTML page to stylize the text in the web browser 
  
• ResourceKey – (required) This value references the id (name) of the text to retrieve from the resources file 
  
• ReplaceTokens – (optional) This true/false value will tell DNN to look for system tokens and replace them with the appropriate text