rb/od-db-backup.md

# Runbook: Open Dental — Rock-solid database + images backup (Windows)

**Applies to:** The Windows machine hosting the Open Dental MySQL/MariaDB database (the "server").
**Goal:** A fully consistent, restorable backup of both halves of an Open Dental practice — the **database** and the **A-to-Z images folder** — following Open Dental and MySQL/MariaDB best practice, including cleanly **stopping the database during the copy and restarting it after**.

### What a complete Open Dental backup is (and isn't)

Per Open Dental's own docs, a full backup is **two things — the database and the A-to-Z images folder** — and both must be captured together. A database backup **without** the images folder (or vice-versa) is not a usable restore.

| Component | Default location | Back up? | Holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| MySQL/MariaDB **data directory** | `C:\mysql\data\` (contains the `opendental` DB) | **Yes — required** | All clinical/financial data |
| **A-to-Z / OpenDentImages** folder | `C:\OpenDentImages\` | **Yes — required** | Scanned docs, images, attachments |
| **`FreeDentalConfig.xml`** | Open Dental install dir | Nice-to-have | Connection / Choose-Database / AtoZ path config |
| Open Dental **program files** | `…\Program Files\Open Dental\` | **No — reinstall** | The application itself |
| Other office documents | (varies) | Per your policy | Non-Open-Dental files |

**There is no separate "application backup."** Open Dental does **not** back up the program itself — on restore you **reinstall the matching Open Dental version** (and matching MySQL/MariaDB) and point it at the restored data. So the two "recovery aids" worth grabbing are just: a copy of **`FreeDentalConfig.xml`** and a record of the **exact versions** to reinstall. The script captures both automatically into the backup folder (`FreeDentalConfig.xml` + `MANIFEST.txt`) — nothing extra to run.

**Placeholders:**

| Placeholder | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `<DB_SERVICE>` | Name of the MySQL/MariaDB Windows service (e.g. `MySQL`, `MySQL57`, `MariaDB`) |
| `<DATA_DIR>` | MySQL data directory — the folder **containing** the `opendental` subfolder (commonly `C:\mysql\data`) |
| `<IMAGES_DIR>` | A-to-Z images folder (commonly `C:\OpenDentImages`) |
| `<DEST>` | Backup destination — separate physical disk or UNC path, ideally replicated off-site |
| `<DB_USER>` / `<DB_PASSWORD>` | A MySQL account for `mysqldump` (supplemental method) — from the password manager, never committed |

---

## Why "cold copy" is the rock-solid method

Open Dental databases run on **MyISAM or InnoDB**. For a *file-level* backup to be consistent:

- A **hot copy** (copying the data directory while the service runs) can capture InnoDB mid-write → **corrupt, unrestorable** backup. Open Dental's built-in Backup tool and most "online" file backups **cannot even restore InnoDB**.
- A **cold copy** — stop the service so it flushes and closes cleanly, copy, restart — is **consistent for both engines**. This is the gold-standard local backup.

Two details that make or break a cold copy:

1. **Copy the *entire* data directory, not just `data\opendental\`.** InnoDB's shared tablespace and redo logs (`ibdata1`, `ib_logfile*`) live at the **root** of the data directory. Copy only the `opendental` subfolder and an InnoDB restore will fail.
2. **Verify the service actually stopped before copying.** If it won't stop, do **not** copy — you'd capture a live datadir.

The script below does both, and **always restarts the service** (even if the copy fails), so the practice is never left down.

---

## 1. Pre-flight

- Run **on the database server**, in an **elevated** PowerShell, **off-hours** — the copy causes downtime; Open Dental is unavailable on every workstation while the service is stopped.
- Make sure **no one is in Open Dental** (fully closed on all workstations).
- Have a `<DEST>` on a **different physical disk** (or UNC share) with enough free space for the data directory **+** images.

## 2. Run the cold backup (primary method)

From an **elevated** PowerShell on the server:

```
irm https://gitea.ivangodwin.com/ops/rb/raw/branch/main/scripts/od-db-backup.ps1 | iex
```

It will:

1. Auto-detect the `<DB_SERVICE>`, `<DATA_DIR>`, and `<IMAGES_DIR>` (prompting to confirm/override).
2. Report sizes and destination free space, then confirm before doing anything.
3. **Stop `<DB_SERVICE>` and verify it reached *Stopped*** — aborting the copy if it doesn't.
4. `robocopy` the **whole** data directory to `<DEST>\od-backup-<timestamp>\data`, then the images to `…\OpenDentImages`.
5. **Restart `<DB_SERVICE>`** in a `finally` block — this runs even if the copy fails or is interrupted.
6. Capture recovery aids (best-effort, outside the downtime window): a copy of **`FreeDentalConfig.xml`** and the exact **Open Dental + MySQL/MariaDB versions**.
7. Write `MANIFEST.txt` and `backup.log` into the backup folder.

### Manual equivalent (offline / if you can't fetch the script)

Elevated PowerShell, no one in Open Dental:

```
net stop <DB_SERVICE>
Get-Service <DB_SERVICE>          # confirm Status = Stopped BEFORE copying
robocopy "<DATA_DIR>"   "<DEST>\od-backup\data"           /E /COPY:DAT /R:2 /W:5
robocopy "<IMAGES_DIR>" "<DEST>\od-backup\OpenDentImages" /E /COPY:DAT /R:2 /W:5
net start <DB_SERVICE>
Get-Service <DB_SERVICE>          # confirm Status = Running
```

> Copy `<DATA_DIR>` itself (the parent of `opendental`), **not** `<DATA_DIR>\opendental` — you need `ibdata1` / `ib_logfile*` at the datadir root for InnoDB. If `net start` fails, start it immediately: the practice cannot work until the DB is back up.

## 3. Supplemental logical backup (mysqldump)

A cold copy is engine-perfect but physical — a portable **logical** dump is a valuable second line (survives binary corruption, restores to any server/version). It runs **while the service is up**, so schedule it separately (e.g. mid-day incremental in addition to the nightly cold copy). Slight slowness while it runs.

```
mysqldump -u <DB_USER> -p --single-transaction --quick --max-allowed-packet=1024M --default-character-set=utf8 --routines --events opendental > "<DEST>\opendental-<date>.sql"
```

- `--single-transaction` gives a consistent snapshot of **InnoDB** without locking the practice out. (For **MyISAM**, that flag does not guarantee consistency — use the cold copy as the source of truth.)
- Compress the `.sql` afterward; it shrinks dramatically.
- The dump does **not** include the images folder — always pair it with an `<IMAGES_DIR>` copy.

## 4. Schedule it (daily minimum)

Open Dental's floor is **at least one backup per day**; combine an automated nightly job with an off-site copy.

Register the cold backup as a nightly **Task Scheduler** job (runs off-hours, as SYSTEM/admin). Because `irm | iex` prompts interactively, schedule a **local copy** of the script with the paths baked in (keep that filled-in copy in the **private tier**, not here), e.g.:

```
schtasks /Create /TN "OD Nightly Cold Backup" /TR "powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\ops\od-db-backup-local.ps1" /SC DAILY /ST 23:30 /RU SYSTEM /RL HIGHEST
```

## 5. Verify — a backup you haven't restored is a guess

- **Test-restore** to an **isolated** machine periodically (matching Open Dental + MySQL/MariaDB versions): `net stop`, rename the existing `opendental` folder aside, drop in the backup's `data\` contents, `net start`, launch Open Dental, spot-check patients/images.
- **Never restore over a live production database** — data loss is irreversible.
- Confirm the nightly job is actually producing dated folders and that they leave the building (off-site / immutable copy) — ransomware that reaches the server will reach on-line backups too.

## 6. Retention & off-site (3-2-1)

- **3** copies, **2** media, **1** off-site. The `<DEST>` disk alone is not a backup strategy.
- Keep several daily generations plus weekly/monthly rollups; prune old `od-backup-<timestamp>` folders on a schedule.
- These files contain **PHI** — encrypt at rest and in transit; restrict access. HIPAA applies.

---

## Security note

Backup media and dumps hold the **entire practice's PHI**. Treat them as the crown jewels: encrypt the destination, lock down share permissions, and keep at least one copy **off-line/immutable** so ransomware can't encrypt your backups along with production. Don't store `<DB_PASSWORD>` in the scheduled command line — use a MySQL option file / limited account.

Note that the captured `FreeDentalConfig.xml` stores the MySQL password **obfuscated but reversible** on **direct-connection** setups. The backup already contains all PHI so this doesn't change the requirement — but it's one more reason the destination must be encrypted and access-controlled. (Middle Tier setups don't put DB credentials in that file — see `od-cfg-persist.md`.)

## References

- Open Dental manual — Backups (overview): <https://opendental.com/manual/backups.html>
- Open Dental manual — Manual Backups: <https://www.opendental.com/manual/backupsmanual.html>
- Open Dental manual — Backup Tool: <https://www.opendental.com/manual/backuptool.html>
- Open Dental manual — FreeDentalConfig.xml: <https://www.opendental.com/manual/freedentalconfig.html>
- Open Dental — InnoDB (backup implications): <https://www.opendental.com/site/mysqlinnodb.html>
- Open Dental manual — MySQL Data Directory Management: <https://opendental.com/manual/mysqlmanage.html>
- MySQL — `mysqldump`, `--single-transaction`: <https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/en/mysqldump.html>