Backup/restore node instance

Backing up and restoring Kaly

In a decentralized blockchain, data replicates between nodes so it's not lost. But backing up configuration and data ensures a smoother recovery from corrupted data or other failures.

Genesis file

The genesis file for a network must be accessible on every node. We recommend storing the genesis file under source control.

Data backups

If installed locally, the default data location is the Kaly installation directory.

Use the --data-path command line option to pass the path to Kaly.

Having some data reduces the time to synchronize a new node. You can perform periodic backups of the data directory and send the data to your preferred backup mechanism. For example, cron job and rsync, archives to the cloud such as s3, or tar.gz archives.

Data restores

To restore data:

1. If the node is running, stop the node.

2. If required, move the data directory to another location for analysis.

3. Restore the data from your last known good backup to the same directory.

4. Ensure user permissions are valid so you can read from and write to the data directory.

5. Restart the node.

Corrupted data

If log messages signify a corrupt database, the cleanest way to recover is:

1. Stop the node.

2. Restore the data from a previous backup.
3. Restart the node.

Find peers after restarting

The process for finding peers after restarting is the same as for [finding peers after upgrading and restarting].