Backing Up Your Mango System

Overview

Mango by Radix IoT stores information in three places that require separate backup strategies: the SQL database, MangoNoSQL historical point values, and portable JSON configuration exports. A complete disaster-recovery plan covers all three.

Prerequisites

• Superadmin access to Mango 4.x or 5.x — every page in this guide is superadmin-only
• Write access to the configured backup directory
• Enough storage for SQL, JSON, and MangoNoSQL retention
• A secure off-site backup destination
• A non-production environment for restore testing

Step 1: Configure Scheduled Backups

Under Administration > System settings, each backup is its own entry in the Choose a section list, with its own schedule. All three ship enabled:

• Configuration backup: Scheduled JSON export
• SQL database backup: Scheduled SQL backup
• Mango NoSQL: Scheduled point-value backup

SQL Database Backup Defaults

JSON Configuration Backup Defaults

MangoNoSQL Backup Defaults

MangoNoSQL is the standard historical point-value store, backed by ias-tsdb. It has separate backup settings.

Step 2: Run Manual Backups

Each mechanism has its own trigger:

• Click Backup now in Configuration backup for a JSON export.
• Click Backup now in SQL database backup for a SQL backup.
• Click Backup now in Mango NoSQL for a point-value backup.

These produce separate files rather than one combined archive:

• JSON: Mango-Configuration-<MMM-dd-yyyy_HHmmss>.json
• SQL: core-database-<type>-<MMM-dd-yyyy_HHmmss>.zip
• MangoNoSQL: files prefixed with MangoNoSQL- or MangoNoSQLPointData-

If Versions to keep is set to 1, the date is dropped and the single file is replaced on every run — Mango-Configuration.json and core-database-<type>.zip.

Step 3: Export JSON Configuration

1. Go to Data integration > Configuration import/export.
2. Tick Select all, or the individual object types.
3. Click Export. The JSON appears in the editor below.
4. Click Download JSON file and store the file securely.

JSON exports can include data sources, data points with their event detectors, event handlers, users, roles, system settings, JSON data, and more — there is one checkbox per type.

Step 4: Verify Backup Files

Check the directory and test SQL ZIP integrity:

# /opt/mango-data is the installer's data directory; adjust for yours
# (an install unzipped without the installer uses /opt/mango/backup)
ls -lh /opt/mango-data/backup/

# Test SQL backup archives
unzip -t /opt/mango-data/backup/core-database-*.zip

Periodically perform a full restore on a non-production instance.

Restoring from Backup

Prefer Mango’s built-in restore controls. They run against the live service and avoid manual file replacement. After a SQL database restore, restart Mango.

Restore the SQL Database

1. Go to Administration > System settings > SQL database backup.
2. Choose the file under Select a file to restore.
3. Click Restore database.
4. Restart Mango when the restore completes. Mango’s own help for this page says the restart is required.

The restore runs over the live database connection, so you do not stop Mango first — but you do restart it afterwards.

Restore JSON Configuration

1. Go to Data integration > Configuration import/export.
2. Paste the JSON, drop the file, or click Upload JSON file.
3. Click Import.
4. Review errors and skipped items.

Restore MangoNoSQL Time-Series Data

The restore tool is not in the Mango NoSQL section of System settings. It has its own page, hidden from the menu:

1. Open Administration > Admin home.
2. On the Utilities card, click Mango NoSQL.
3. Open the Restore Mango NoSQL database tab.
4. Choose the file under NoSQL backup and click Restore now.

The page is superadmin-only, and restoring also needs the separate NoSQL restore permission. Incremental backups are on by default, so a single zip holds only the changes since the previous backup — use the tool rather than copying one file over ias-tsdb.

Remote Backup Best Practices

• Copy backups off the Mango server immediately after creation.
• Use NFS, object storage, or rsync to another host.
• Encrypt sensitive backups.
• Test restoration at least quarterly.

Example nightly off-site copy:

0 3 * * * rsync -avz /opt/mango-data/backup/ backupuser@remote-server:/backups/mango/

Verification

• The newest SQL and JSON files were created at 00:05 server time.
• SQL and JSON retention each preserve the configured number of files, default 10.
• MangoNoSQL backups are present and follow their separate retention setting.
• SQL ZIP files pass unzip -t.
• A JSON export can be imported into a non-production instance.
• Built-in SQL and MangoNoSQL restore controls complete successfully in a restore test, and Mango restarts cleanly after the SQL restore.
• Off-site copies are current and readable.

Troubleshooting

Backup Is Missing or Zero Bytes

• Confirm Mango can write to the backup directory.
• Review ma.log.
• Check available disk space.
• Verify the relevant backup mechanism is enabled.

Restore Control Fails or Is Missing

• Open the matching page: SQL restore is under SQL database backup, while MangoNoSQL restore is behind the Mango NoSQL button on Admin home’s Utilities card.
• For MySQL or PostgreSQL, backup needs mysqldump or pg_dump and restore needs mysql or psql on the system path. Otherwise set db.backup.dump and db.restore.path to absolute paths in mango.properties.

JSON Import Skips Objects

• Within one file, Mango orders the import itself and retries items whose dependencies were not there yet, so a complete export imports in one pass.
• A skipped item usually references an XID that is in neither the file nor the target system — a data point whose data source was not exported, for example. Export the dependency too, or import it first.
• Review the import result for the missing XID references.

MangoNoSQL Uses Too Much Storage

• Review point logging intervals and purge settings.
• Reduce logging frequency where operationally acceptable.
• Purge data beyond the required retention period.
• Adjust MangoNoSQL’s separate backup file count, which defaults to 365.
• Run the optional corruption scan only when needed; it is not enabled by default.

Related Guides

• Upgrading from Mango 3.x to Mango 4
• Deploying Mango 5 with Docker
• Resetting the Admin Password
• Mango Troubleshooting Methodology: Step-by-Step Triage Guide
• Common Mango Issues and Quick Fixes