====Moving ARDI Databases to New Servers====

You can move ARDI databases between servers using the built in **Backup Database** and **Restore Database** functions found under the //Administration// menu. See [[ardiadminguide:backup_and_restore|backup and restore]] in the ARDI admin guide.

However, this assumes that your ARDI servers share the same installed infrastructure - including the same addons and drivers.

This is because ARDI database backups are designed with security in mind, so don't include any executable programs or scripts such as driver files.

===Backing Up Drivers & Addons===

If you want to migrate your drivers and addons between systems, go to **Administration** | **Backup Database** and press the //Backup Installed Modules// button.

This will download a ZIP archive containing your drivers, UIs and addons that you have installed on your ARDI system.

===Restoring Drivers & Addons===

There is no automated method of restoring your ARDI drivers and addons. For security reasons, they'll need to be installed manually on the target system.

Your backup ZIP file will contain the following...

^File/Folder^Content^
|**instructions.txt**|Instructions on how to restore the content of the archive|
|**requirements.txt**|A list of Python modules that will need to be installed|
|**addons**|Addons that need to be installed into your **web/addons** folder|
|**data**|Driver UIs that need to be installed into your **web/data** folder|
|**drivers**|Drivers that need to be installed into your **drivers** folder|

You'd copy the files into the specified locations (based on your ARDI install folder) and then install the required Python libraries through PIP.

===Example: Linux===

On a Linux system, you'd first find an empty folder and unzip the contents of the ZIP archive.

<code bash>
cd /usr/src
unzip my_backup_file.zip
</code>

You'd then copy the folders to their target locations...

<code bash>
mv addons/* /opt/ardi/web/addons
mv data/* /opt/ardi/web/data
mv drivers/* /opt/ardi/drivers
</code>

You should make sure all items copied into the **web** folder belong to the :www-data group...

<code bash>
chown -R :www-data /opt/ardi/web/addons/*
chown -R :www-data /opt/ardi/web/data/*
</code>

Then install your Python libraries...

<code bash>
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
</code>

===Example: Windows===

Assuming you've installed ARDI to **C:\ARDI**, you'd do the following...

  * Double-click your ZIP file to open it.
  * Drag-and-drop the contents of your **drivers** folder to //C:\ardi\drivers//
  * Drag-and-drop the contents of your **data** folder to //C:\ardi\web\data//
  * Drag-and-drop the contents of your **addons** folder to //C:\ardi\web\addons//

Then copy your //requirements.txt// file to an easy-to-remember location.
Open a //Command-Prompt// window and type the following...

<code>
cd <easy-to-remember-location>
c:\python310\scripts\pip install -r requirements.txt
</code>

//Note - substitute your installed version of Python for 'python310'//.