Backup and restore Besu
In a decentralized blockchain, data replicates between nodes so it is 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 Besu installation directory.
We recommend mounting a separate volume to store data. Use the --data-path command line option to pass the path to Besu.
The default data location is the Besu installation directory, or /opt/besu/database if using the Besu Docker image.
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:
- If the node is running, stop the node.
- If required, move the data directory to another location for analysis.
- Restore the data from your last known good backup to the same directory.
- Ensure user permissions are valid so you can read from and write to the data directory.
- Restart the node.
Corrupted data
If log messages signify a corrupt database, the cleanest way to recover is:
- Stop the node.
- Restore the data from a previous backup.
- Restart the node.
Prevent accidental downgrade
When restarting Besu, accidentally using an earlier version of Besu might risk corrupting your database.
To protect against incompatibility between versions, set the
--version-compatibility-protection
option to true.
Find peers after restarting
The process for finding peers after restarting is the same as for finding peers after upgrading and restarting.