Before you begin
Having backups of your Genie data is extremely important in the event of irreparable data loss due to hardware failure, data corruption, cyberattack, fires or floods. Additionally, It's typically a medico-legal requirement for auditing purposes and can also be used to check if something has been accidentally deleted from your database. Genie can be configured to take regular, automated backups of your database, or you can set up an alternative backup system to achieve this.
We recommend that someone within your practice (whether that be your IT provider or a staff member) look after your backup processes. This person will be responsible for the configuration and maintenance of your backups, and they will need to decide how these backups will be completed, where they will be stored and how to restore a backup if needed.
Important considerations
While there are a number of different philosophies around backup best-practices and it's ultimately up to you to decide what's best for you and your practice, at minimum it's a good idea to have:
- One backup of your data on a separate device from your Genie Server machine – if your server hardware fails, you can easily set up a temporary server machine using a backup from another device.
- One backup of your data that's offsite – if your practice suffers a natural disaster such as a fire or flood, your data will be safe.
- One backup of your data that's offline – if your server gets a virus and your broader network becomes compromised, you'll have a copy of the data that hasn't been infected.
The below are important questions that you will need to answer when you are setting this up within your practice:
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How often are you going to need to back up your data?
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It's important to remember that if you only back up once a week, you will lose any new data entered since the last backup was performed should you need to restore your data from a backup. A daily backup is typically a good starting point.
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| Where are these backups going to be stored? | If your primary backups are store on site, it's important to also have an offsite and preferably offline copy as well to ensure that you still have a copy of your data in the event of unforeseeable circumstances (e.g. robbery, fire, cyberattack). |
| How can you access your backups in the event of data loss? | Do you know how to restore your backups should the necessity arise? |
| How are you going to keep historical backups? | Historical backups enable you to look back at a copy of your data as it was at a period of time in the past and is a medico-legal requirement in most circumstances. Backups for each day of the previous week and then one permanently stored backup for each week is a good starting point. |
| Will you be able to verify your backups can be restored successfully? | Do you have a policy in place to regularly verify your backups to ensure that they are being completed correctly and are able to be restored if necessary? If you're keeping one permanently stored weekly backup of your data, it's a good idea to check that you're able to restore this backup. |
| What method are you going to use to complete your backups? | Depending on your preferences, you can choose to use Genie's automated backups, a third-party/alternative backup process, or both. Because Genie is only able to back up data to one location, it's a good idea to think about how you can have multiple copies of you backups in different locations (external hard drives, cloud storage etc). |
Configuring automated Genie backups
Automated Genie backups are designed to take place at a scheduled time and save to a location that you specify. To configure automated Genie backups, you must have access to the Genie Server application on your server machine – if you are running your Genie Server as a service (Windows only), you will need to run Genie as an application (i.e. stop the service first, then open the application) while configuring Genie backups.
To configure automated Genie backups, navigate to the 
Maintenance tab at the top of the Server Admin Window within the Genie Server application. If you don't see an open window on the Genie server, navigate to Window > Administration in the Genie Server application.
Here, you'll see a section containing the date and time of the Last backup and Next backup, the Needed space and Available space, and buttons to Start backup and for Settings....:
Click the Settings... button to open the backup settings window. Within this window you'll find three tabs – Scheduler, Configuration and Backup & Restore.
If this is your first time configuring backups and the backup settings are greyed out, navigate to Edit > Settings > User Settings for Data File > Backup (Windows) or File > Settings > User Settings for Date File > Backup (Mac) to configure your backups.
Scheduler tab
Choose how often you'd like to schedule an automated backup and when. The options are:
| Automated Backup setting | Options |
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Every Hour
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Genie will backup every hour, on the hour – no further options are available.
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Every Day (recommended)
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Genie will backup every day at the specified time.
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Every Week
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Genie will backup every week on the specified day and time.
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Every Month
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Genie will backup every month on the specified day and time.
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Personalised
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Used to configure "tailor made" automated backups. When you select this option, several additional entry areas appear:
- Every X hour(s): Allows programming backups on an hourly basis. You can enter a value between 1 and 24.
- Every X day(s) at x: Allows programming backups on a daily basis. For example, enter 1 if you want to perform a daily backup. When this option is checked, you must enter the time when the backup should start.
- Every X week(s) day at x: Allows programming backups on a weekly basis. Enter 1 if you want to perform a weekly backup. When this option is checked, you must enter the day(s) of the week and the time when the backup should start. You can select several days of the week, if desired. For example, you can use this option to set two weekly backups: one on Wednesday and one on Friday.
- Every X month(s), Xth Day at x: Allows programming backups on a monthly basis. Enter 1 if you want to perform a monthly backup. When this option is checked, you must indicate the day of the month and the time when the backup should start.
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Backups will prevent users from working in Genie while it runs and is therefore highly recommended to be scheduled outside of consulting hours. The Genie Server application / service will need to be running at this scheduled time.
Configuration tab
Content
At a bare minimum, you will need to ensure that Data File has been ticked in this tab. The Structure and User Structure settings are not required.
You can also specify a set of files and/or folders to be backed up at the same time as the application, which can be of any file type. Clicking the small + button at the bottom of the Attachments section allows you to Add file or Add folder, and then browse to the desired file/folder. If you wish to remove a file or folder, select it from the list of Attachments and click the – button that appears at the bottom of the Attachments section.
Some things to consider adding to your backups are:
- In Genie v10 and above, the CertificateManager folder within the Genie folder that houses your electronic certificates (such as NASH for My Health Record use) should be included in your automated backup.
The Images folder that contains all patient attachments (images, PDFs, etc) is, by default, not included in automated backups. You can add this folder to the Genie automated backups if you wish, however this will drastically increase the size of your backup files and the time it takes to back up your data. It is highly recommended that you backup your images folder separately using an alternative backup method.
Backup File Destination Folder
You will need to ensure that your Backup File Destination Folder has been selected by clicking the .... button to the right of the Backup File Destination Folder section and navigating to your correct backup destination folder on your machine, network or external device.
If you're backing up to an external device, this must be available at the scheduled backup time.
Log Management
We recommend leaving the Use Log checkbox unticked, as this can cause complications when restoring a backup of your data. This setting will create a .journal log file in your Genie folder and backups of this file are saved in .4BL format.
For further information about what the log file does and how to configure, please refer to the 4D documentation. Only enable log files if you fully understand how they work at your own discretion.
Backup & Restore tab
General settings
Keep only the last x backup files: This settings relates to how many backups you wish to keep. This is set to 3 by default, however can be increased, decreased or disabled entirely. If you wish to keep a week's worth of data files and you're backing up daily, you should set this to 7. Genie deletes the oldest archive if it is found in the same location as the archive being backed up and has the same name.
Backup only if the data file has been modified: When this option is checked, Genie starts scheduled backups only if data has been added, changed or deleted since the last backup. Otherwise, the scheduled backup is cancelled and put off until the next scheduled backup.
Delete oldest backup file before/after backup: This option is only used if the Keep only the last x backup files option is checked. It specifies whether Genie should start by deleting the oldest archive before starting the backup (before option) or whether the deletion should take place once the backup is completed (after option).
If backup fails: When a backup cannot be performed, Genie can attempt the backup again.
- Retry at the next scheduled date and time: The backup will be skipped and Genie will attempt to backup again at the next scheduled time. It amounts to cancelling the failed backup. An error is generated.
- Retry after X second(s), minute(s) or hour(s): When this option is checked, a new backup attempt is executed after the wait period. You can set a wait period in seconds, minutes or hours using the corresponding menu. If the new attempt also fails, an error is generated.
- Cancel the operation after X attempts: Set the maximum number of failed backup attempts. If the backup has not been carried out successfully after the maximum number of attempts set has been reached, it is cancelled. If you choose the option to Retry after x Seconds/Minutes/Hour, we recommend ticking the Cancel the operation after x attempts checkbox to avoid a large number of failed backup tasks from being generated. No new automated backup will be attempted as long as the application has not been restarted, or a manual backup has been carried out successfully.
Archive
We recommend leaving these settings a their defaults. Further information can be found in the 4D documentation
Restore and log integration
We recommend disabling the Restore last backup if database is damaged setting – this prevents users from potentially adding data into an older datafile before Genie Support has been able to attempt a repair of the most recent data file. We always recommend contacting Support in the event of any potential data corruption.
The two settings related to log file integration are only applicable if you enabled this in the Configuration tab. Further information can be found in the 4D documentation.
Once you're happy with your backup preferences, click 
to save your preferences and return to the Maintenance tab of the Server Admin Window. The Genie automated backups will take place at the scheduled time and save to the location you specified in the setup process. Automated Genie backups take a copy of the Genie data file (Genie.4DD) and save it as a backup file (Geniexxx.4BK - with 'xxx' being the number of the backup).
Forcing a manual backup
If you have configured your automated backups using the steps above, you are able to run a backup directly from a Genie Client or Genie Server application should you ever need to do so. Navigate to File > Maintenance & Reports > Server Admin Window > Maintenance in a Genie Client application, then click the Start Backup. In a Genie Server application, simply click Start Backup in the Maintenance tab of the Server Admin Window.
Backups will prevent users from working in Genie while it runs, so this is not recommended unless absolutely necessary or at the instruction of Genie Support.
Backups for Genie Single User applications
If you don't use a server-client environment and only use the Genie Single User application on one device, the backup settings listed above are not available. If you wish to configure automated Genie backups, you'll need to either temporarily install a Genie Server application and configure the backup settings as above, or use an alternative backup.
Alternative backups
Alternative backups should not be carried out while the Genie Server application is running. This can lead to severe and irrevocable data corruption, regardless of whether you are copying the data manually or via a third-party application.
What we refer to as an 'alternative' backup is any backup process other than Genie's automated process. This can either be a third-party application that takes a backup for you, or a nominated user who simply copies the necessary files.
While you can use an alternative backup as the primary way in which you back up you Genie data, it's also entirely valid to use alternative backups to supplement Genie's automated backups – Genie can only be configured to back up your data to a single location and, as such, it's good practice to make sure any automated Genie backups are stored in a number of different locations.
It's also recommended to use an alternative backup method to backup the Images folder that contains your patient attachments (images, PDFs etc).
If using an alternative backup as your main form of backup, the following Genie files need to be copied after closing the Genie Server application (File > Quit (Windows) or Genie Server > Quit (Mac) and select Disconnect all clients and quit):
- Genie.4DD (data file)
- Genie.4DIndx
- Genie.Match
- Genie.4DSyncData
- Genie.4DSyncHeader
- Images folder (patient attachments)
- CertificateManager folder (Genie v10 and above)
It's also worth taking backup of the Genie Single User application or noting the Genie version the data file was associated with, as the Genie data file can only be opened in the version of Genie it was backed up from – the datafile from v9.0.6 can only be opened using version v9.0.6 Single User and Server applications, for example. On Windows machines, the copy the Genie Solo Application folder within the Genie folder and, on Mac, the Genie.app in the Applications > Genie folder.
It is important you keep a few different instances of the data in case of data corruption. You could perform an external backup as many times as you wish e.g. once a day, once a week etc, and these would need to be labelled by date so you have a record of the backups. If you're unsure about configuring your external backups, please contact your nominated IT support representative to assist with this.
Additional considerations
External Backups
If your primary backup is being saved to the Genie server machine, it is essential that you have at least one external backup configured – if your Genie server suffers a hardware failure and your backups are stored on that machine, you won't have an additional copy to rely on. You can have as many external backups as you like (the more, the better), as long as they are consistent and reliable.
As mentioned previously, having an offline backup (an external hard drive that's only plugged in occasionally to backup and is then unplugged, for example) is also an important consideration in case your network becomes compromised by a virus/cyberattack – if one machine at your practice is infected by something like a ransomware attack, this will typically spread to other machines at your practice.
These external backups are just as important as your regular backups and can be used to simply back up the Genie.4BK (the automated backup file), the Genie.4DD or the entire Genie folder.
Historical backups
As well as performing backups for emergencies, you should also create regular historical backups of your data and application files. Historical backups allow you to have snapshots of your data at different times in the past, which is essential for medico-legal auditing purposes if you are keeping computerised consultation notes.
The Genie data file can only be opened in the version of Genie it was backed up from – the datafile from v9.0.6 can only be opened using version v9.0.6 Single User and Server applications, for example. As such, backups must contain everything you need to open the data file, including the Genie Single User application. On Windows machines, the copy the Genie Solo Application folder within the Genie folder and, on Mac, the Genie.app in the Applications > Genie folder.
Verifying your backups
Once you have backed up your data, make sure you are able to open the data file and verify that it contains the information that you expect. This way you can be assured that if you need to review the data in the future that you can open it successfully.
To verify your backups, please refer to the How do I restore a backup? article – this article includes instructions for restoring a backup for reference, which is what you'll need to do to confirm that you're able to open the data file and verify that it contains the information you expect.
The Genie data file can only be opened in the version of Genie it was backed up from – the datafile from v9.0.6 can only be opened using version v9.0.6 Single User and Server applications, for example.
