Things you should know when managing your flex.bi server

The following are basic instructions, information and some tips for flex.bi Enterprise server administrators.

Creating Backups

Backing up flex.bi data bases

As a server administrator, you are responsible for creating regular backups of your flex.bi data bases. The frequency of the backup procedure should be chosen according to your company's data security policy.

The backup files should be stored separately from the original database, ideally in a geographically remonte location.

There are many ways of backing up your databases - might have special tools or ability to make disk snapshots. The easiest, but still very reliable way is to create database dumps. For example, on a MySQL server you could do this:

Run the following command to connect to mysql:
```
mysql -u <username> -p <password>
```
Run the following code to backup all flex.bi databases into an .sql file:
```
mysqldump -u <username> -p <password> --all-databases >> <backup_file_name.sql>
```
In the code examples above you have to input the username and password of a MySQL user and a backup_file_name of your choice

Backing up flex.bi installation files

To reduce the possible service downtimes, it is also recommended to back up flex.bi installation files located in the flexbi_private folder, according to your company's internal backup policy.

The backup files should be stored separately from the original database, ideally in a geographically separate location.

Restarting the Service or Server

Sometimes the best solution is a restart, but you have to distinguish between restarting only the flex.bi service and restarting the entire server.

Restarting the flex.bi Service

When?

You should restart the flex.bi service in the following situations.

The server is running normally, you can log-in and perform normal operations, but:

flex.bi data imports are not working.
flex.bi service start/login page is not loading.

How?

Before restarting the flex.bi service you should stop any ongoing data imports, to avoid possible locks in the database.

To do this:

Open Source Applications section of the flex.bi web interface.
Click on Cancel for any application with the Importing status.

The procedure of restarting the flex.bi service depends on the method you are using to start the service.

If you are using init.d method:
Run the following command to restart the flex.bi service:
```
/etc/init.d/flexbi start
```
If you are using systemctl method:
Run the following command to restart the flex.bi service:
```
systemctl restart flexbi
```

After restarting the flex.bi service, resume any imports that you canceled before restarting.

Restarting the entire server

When?

You should restart the entire server in the following situations.

The flex.bi service is not working as expected and:

The server can't be reached using its domain name or IP address.
You can't log-in into the server.
Issues have been spotted, connected to other server procedures.

How?

Restart the server according to your company's internal procedures.

Checking Log Files for Errors

There are 2 log files available in the flex.bi system, which can be found in the Troubleshooting page of the flex.bi web interface and flexbi_private/log folder on the server.

eazybi-queues.log
In this log file you can find information about data imports, including each cube import status, time, imported record count and import errors.

This log file shows if the file upload function is started (shows up after each server restart) and if any files are being uploaded.
eazybi-web.log
In this log file you can find information about processes in the web interface of the live flex.bi service, including information about errors.

In this log file you can check for potential threats, such as scanning attacks, DDOS attacks and similar malicious attempts.

Debugging Data Import

For data import debugging you can use two methods:

Import issues e-mails that are sent from the account.
The following plan parameter which enables data import debug messages registration in the log file eazybi-queues.log mentioned before:

debug_import = ["<register_name>"]

In the code example above you have to exchange the attribute <register_name> for the name of the register that you want to monitor.

For both debug methods to work, you have to be set as the Owner of the particular account.

Assigning Account Owner Role

In the flex.bi web interface:

Select the account ghat you want to edit.
In the Current account menu select Account users.
In the list, make sure that your role is set to Owner.

Enabling the Debug Procedure

In the flex.bi web interface:

Select the account ghat you want to edit.
In the Current account menu select Edit account.
In the Update account window, enter debug_import = ["<register_name>"] (using the appropriate register name) in the Plan parameters field.
Click on the Update button.

Data import debug messages are shown in the log file eazybi-queues.log mentioned before, which is available in the Troubleshooting page of the flex.bi web interface and flexbi_private/log folder on the server.

Monitoring Available Space on Hard-drives

As a server administrator, you are responsible for making sure that there is enough free space for data imports on the server's hard-drives. Lack of free space can cause data import interruptions and other errors.

Regularly check if there is enough free space available. If the space is running out, you can free it by deleting unnecessary files (e.g. old backups and all of the files in the import/[account number]/uploaded folder, because they are stored in data folder after import), adding extra hard drives or choosing another cloud server subscription plan with a higher data capacity.