Disable XML backup via jira-config.properties

Question

Hi all,

we are running Jira inside Kubernetes and are currently looking for a solution how to programmatically disable XML Backup completely.

According to Atlassian's official statement, it is highly recommended to disable the scheduled XML backup:

* https://confluence.atlassian.com/adminjiraserver/automating-jira-application-backups-938847675.html

However, now we have the problem that we can't find a solution how to disable the scheduler via jira-config.properties.

While there is an option to disable an export via the property "jira.autoexport=false", this seems to only apply to the backups that are automatically created during an upgrade and not to the default scheduled backups as configured under Advanced -> System.

The following issue also explicitly mentions that the property is there for a different purpose and our tests have also shown that "jira.autoexport=false" has no effect on the scheduler:

* https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRASERVER-34119

We explicitly don't want that the administrator disables the scheduler manually via the UI, instead we want to solve the task in Kubernetes via a configmap with the jira-config.properties.

Are there any experience reports or alternative solutions on how we can influence the behavior on the code side?

Kind regards,

Matthias

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

Mmm, that's not what they told me last time I asked about it (albeit, that was a few years back).  And my question was for Server, not DC.

I was told the only way to turn off the regular export was via the UI (or smack the flag in the database and restart Jira)

Matthias Guzy · Answer

Hello and thank you for the feedback.

We had contacted the official Atlassian support at the same time and there we got the info that the feature should actually affect scheduled backup as well and not exclusively for backups in the context of upgrades:

Normally the property  'jira.autoexport=false' is enough BUT you will need to restart Jira node.

Since you are using Jira on Kubernetes I will request to validate the use of the parameter and confirm no XML backup will be created after adding this parameter and restarting Jira.

So according to your feedback, there is actually no programmatic solution, but only the way via the UI, right?

Kind regards

Matthias

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

I think you might have missed what the different backup flags are for, like I did when I first ran into them.

The crux of this one is "we can't find a solution how to disable the scheduler via jira-config.properties."

You're not supposed to, that is not what it is for.

"jira.autoexport=false" is a flag for those of us who are doing upgrades where we've already taken a proven backup and don't need it.  It's even more useful for those of us doing chained upgrades!

Last Autumn, I did a chained upgrade on a large system.  Without it, we could take the 7.3 system to 7.13 to 8.0 to 8.5 in about 39 hours.  Turn off the auto export (and auto index) because we were never going to roll-back to an intermediate step, we got down to 8 hours.

The flag has nothing to do with what you have configured in your system backup settings.  You will need an admin to check and correct those settings.