Backing Up and Restoring Dermi Atlas Professional

Backups of Dermi Atlas Professional are made and managed on the Backup Management page of Dermi Atlas Manager on the host computer. The page shows the Backup and Restore card with Create Backup, the Backups and Storage Used totals, and the list of backups.

What a Backup Contains

A backup holds every patient record and image in Atlas, the Atlas settings, and the keys of the installation. It records the Atlas version it was made with, which decides how it can be restored.

Backups share the images they have in common. The first backup copies every image; each later backup copies only the images added or changed since, so it needs far less time and space. Storage Used shows the space all backups take together.

Backups are not encrypted, and because they hold the keys of the installation, anyone with a copy of a backup can read the patient data in it. Store exported backup files with the same care as patient records, for example on an encrypted drive in a location only authorized staff can reach.

Where Backups Are Stored

Backups are kept in the Atlas Manager data folder on the host computer. The location is fixed, and the full path appears in the Backup Location box when an update or uninstall creates a backup. Uninstalling Atlas keeps existing backups.

A backup that exists only on the host computer is lost together with that computer's drive. Export backups regularly to a separate drive or location.

Creating a Backup

1. Open Backup Management in the Atlas Manager sidebar.
2. On the Backup and Restore card, check that the status reads Ready.
3. Select Create Backup.

Atlas is unavailable while a backup or restore runs. The progress bar names each stage, and the new backup appears at the top of the list with its date, version, and size. Keep Atlas Manager open until the backup finishes.

Create Backup is unavailable while the status reads Busy (another operation is running) or Docker Unavailable (Docker is not running).

Before copying anything, Atlas Manager checks the free space on the drive that holds the Atlas Manager data. A backup needs room for the patient records and for the images that no earlier backup holds, plus a small margin. When the drive is too small, the backup stops with "Not enough free space for the backup: X needed, Y available." Free at least the difference, then create the backup again.

Backups are also created as part of other operations:

• Before an update: the update wizard offers Create Backup Before Updating. Some updates require it and state "This update requires a backup." These backups carry the Pre-Update label.
• Before an uninstall: the uninstall wizard offers Create Backup Before Uninstalling, turned on by default. These backups carry the Pre-Uninstall label.

Exporting a Backup

1. Select Export on the backup row.
2. In the Export Backup dialog, choose the destination folder, for example on an external drive.

Atlas Manager writes the backup into that folder as a single .tar file. An exported file is complete on its own and can be restored during installation on this computer or another one.

A row labeled Full Archive is a backup in the complete-archive format. It is exported as a .tar.gz file and restored only during installation.

Deleting a Backup

1. Select Delete on the backup row.
2. In the Permanently Delete Backup? drawer, type PERMANENTLY DELETE BACKUP.
3. Select Delete Backup.

Deleting a backup frees the space of the images no other backup shares. It cannot be undone, and exported copies of the backup are not affected.

Restoring on This Computer

A backup made with the installed Atlas version is restored in place from the backup list. Everything changed after the backup was made is replaced, so creating a backup first keeps a way back.

1. Select Restore on the backup row.
2. Read the Restore Backup? drawer: every patient record, image, and setting changed since the backup is lost, and Atlas is unavailable during the restore.
3. Type RESTORE BACKUP and select Restore Backup.

When the restore finishes, Atlas starts again with the data of the backup.

Restore is unavailable on backups made with another Atlas version, and the list then notes "Restore is available for backups made with Atlas" followed by the installed version. Those backups, and Full Archive backups, are restored during installation after uninstalling Atlas.

A restore also checks the Docker disk first. When the Docker disk lacks space, the restore stops before changing anything, with a message that begins "The Docker disk has" or "The drive that holds the Docker data has", followed by the remedy. A Full Archive restore during installation checks the free space of the host computer and stops with "Not enough free space for the restore: X needed, Y available." when it is short.

Restoring During Installation

The Restore Backup option of the installation wizard installs Atlas from a backup. It is the way to move Atlas to a new computer, to restore after an uninstall, and to restore a backup made with another Atlas version.

1. To move to a new computer, export a backup on the current host computer and copy the .tar file to the new computer. Once the copy is confirmed, uninstall Atlas on the current host computer so that the license key is released.
2. On the computer that receives Atlas, install Atlas Manager, activate the license, and pass the Requirements step, as described in Deploying Dermi Atlas Professional.
3. On the Options step, select Restore Backup.
4. Select a backup under Available Backups, which lists the backups already on this computer, or select Browse and choose an exported backup file.
5. Select the checkbox to accept the End User License Agreement, then select Start Installation.

Atlas Manager installs the Atlas version the backup was made with and then restores the data; this needs an internet connection. An exported file is first copied into the backup store on this computer, so its drive needs room for it. Restore Complete appears at the end. Check the Atlas Status page afterward for a newer release to update to.

Atlas Manager accepts backups made with Atlas 26.3.2 or later. An older backup is refused with "Backups made before Atlas 26.3.2 cannot be restored. Choose Fresh Installation instead." A backup of a release that is no longer published is refused with "Atlas X is no longer available for download, so this backup cannot be restored."

An Unfinished Restore

When a restore stops before it finishes, for example because Atlas Manager was closed, the Atlas Status page shows "The last restore did not finish, so Atlas holds incomplete data." Atlas does not start, and no new backup can be created, until a backup is restored: select Restore Backup on that notice and restore a backup from the list. For this and other messages, see Troubleshooting Backup and Restore Issues.