Bender - Automated Backup of OS X Server Settings
Click Here to download Bender!
What is Bender?
Bender is a utility written by Forget Computers to automate the backup of OS X Server settings to provide easy restoration of services should they become corrupt, and for importing server settings after a migration or server upgrade. Additional instructions are available here at krypted.com.
How does it work?
Bender creates a folder in the root of the startup disk called Bender Backups. Each evening at 10 PM the Open Directory Master (if enabled), the postgres database, the Wiki database, and all services (running or not) will be backed up. Bender keeps the backups for 30 days before removing old copies.
What OS X Server operating systems does Bender support?
Bender is robust and supports OS X Server 10.6 and later, including OS X 10.11 El Capitan and Server 5.
How do I use the backups that Bender creates to restore my settings?
To restore an Open Directory archive:
- Open Server Admin (in 10.7 and earlier) and select the Open Directory service.
- Click on the Archive tab, choose the archive you wish to use and click Restore.
- To determine the password used to encrypt the archive, run this command inTerminal:
For older versions of Bender:
/sbin/ifconfig | /usr/bin/grep -m 1 ether | /usr/bin/awk '{print $2}' | /usr/bin/sed 's/://g' | /usr/bin/cut -c 5-
For the current release of Bender:
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/Hardware UUID/{print $3}'
Note: There is currently no restore option in Server.app in 10.8 or later, so use the command line:
sudo slapconfig -restoredb /path/to/your/archive.sparseimage
To restore all OS X Server settings:
sudo serveradmin settings < /path/to/your-sa_backup-allservices.backup
To restore a specific OS X Server setting:
sudo serveradmin settings < /path/to/your-sa_backup-servicename.backup
To restore Profile Manager:
sudo cat /path/to/your-profile-backup.sql | psql -h /Library/Server/ProfileManager/Config/var/PostgreSQL -U _devicemgr devicemgr_v2m0
Helpful Hint: Terminal in OS X supports drag & drop, so you can simply drag the plist you want to restore instead of typing in the full path.
I've downloaded and installed Bender. What do I do now? Can I customize the settings?
If you change any variable definitions within your deployment please test appropriately! You can edit the Bender backup binary here: /usr/local/robotcloud/bin/bender
To change the default backup destination:
In a text editor (vi, nano, TextWrangler) edit the pathBackups line to point to the external volume of your choice, ex: pathBackups="/Volumes/Drobo"
To change the default Open Directory passphrase:
In a text editor (vi, nano, TextWrangler) edit the ldapPass line with the desired passphrase, ex: ldapPass="BiteMyShinyMetalBackup2016!"
We recommend that you add the Bender Backups directory created by Bender to the scope of your local backup program. If you useCrashPlan PROe you can add this destination as default on all of our managed workstations within a couple minutes. If you use another backup application, your milage may vary.
Contact
Bender is provided under the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.gnu.org/licenses/. The likeness of Bender is the property of Matt Groening and others.
If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, please contact us and let us know!
Kick Bender Out The Door
Use Terminal to uninstall Bender completely:
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.robotcloud.bender.plist
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.robotcloud.bender.plist
sudo rm -Rf /usr/local/robotcloud
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
If you want to disable Bender backups but not uninstall it, you can use this Terminal command:
sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.robotcloud.bender.pist
If you later decide to enable Bender backups after disabling them:
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.robotcloud.bender.pist