Data Restoration and Migration
This topic explains how to restore data in FlowForce Server. It also provides information about data migration, which allows copying FlowForce Server data from a previous instance-data directory to the current one. If necessary, it also upgrades the FlowForce database to the latest version. The migratedb command, which is used to migrate data, can be invoked to copy application data from one folder to another. Running this command may be useful when you want to migrate FlowForce Server to a new machine or when you need to restore the application data directory from a backup.
If you only need to upgrade the FlowForce database version to the latest one, it is sufficient to run upgradedb.
Data restoration
If the INSTANCEDIR_BACKUP (which is the copy of the INSTANCEDIR) is of the same version and on the same machine as the currently running FlowForce Server, you can restore data as follows:
1. If FlowForce Server services are running, stop them.
2. Rename the INSTANCEDIR, for example, to temp_data.
3. Copy the INSTANCEDIR_BACKUP to INSTANCEDIR.
4. Start both the FlowForce Web Server and FlowForce Server services.
You can also restore backups that originate from another machine and perhaps have an older database version. The steps below could be useful, for example, if you want to migrate FlowForce data to a new server, or if a hardware failure has occurred.
Note that you can restore data on a machine that runs the same or a different operating system. In the latter case, note that all the paths used in jobs may not be valid on the new operating system, in which case they will need to be updated manually. Importantly, credentials that are tied to operating system user accounts, that is, credentials where the Allow usage for job execution option is enabled, may no longer be valid on a new machine, in which case they will need to be updated manually.
To restore data to a new FlowForce Server installation or version, follow the instructions below:
1.Install FlowForce Server and any of the following, if applicable: MapForce Server, StyleVision Server and RaptorXML Server. If you need to install LicenseServer as well, you can select it as part of the FlowForce Server installation (Windows only). On other platforms, you will need to install LicenseServer separately.
2.Log on to the LicenseServer Web administration interface and deregister all the products from the old machine. Then register all the products from the new machine with LicenseServer. This step can also be performed after migration.
3.If FlowForce Server services are running, stop them.
4.Rename the INSTANCEDIR, for example, to temp_data.
5.Run the migratedb command by supplying INSTANCEDIR as --datadir and INSTANCEDIR_BACKUP as --olddatadir (see examples below).
Windows
FlowForceServer migratedb
--datadir=C:\ProgramData\Altova\FlowForceServer2025\data
--olddatadir=C:\transfer\backup_data
CentOS
sudo ./flowforceserver migratedb
--datadir=/var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/data
--olddatatdir=/home/chang/backups/data
6.Start (in this order) the FlowForce Server and FlowForce Web Server services.
Data migration
This subsection provides information about data migration on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Windows
On Windows, you do not typically need to migrate configuration data manually. When you install a new major version of FlowForce Server, and a previous major version is already installed, the installation wizard prompts you to migrate the configuration data.
Should you need to migrate configuration data manually, follow the instructions below:
1.Ensure that Altova ServiceController 
is running in the system notification area. Otherwise, start the Altova ServiceController.
2.Stop the FlowForce Server service and the FlowForce Web Server service.
3.Delete the FlowForce Server data folder installed by the 2025 installation wizard.
4.At the command prompt, run the FlowForce executable with the migratedb command, for example:
"C:\Program Files(x86)\Altova\FlowForceServer2025\bin\FlowForceServer.exe" migratedb
--datadir=C:\ProgramData\Altova\FlowForceServer2025\data
--olddatadir=C:\ProgramData\Altova\FlowForceServer2024\data
5.Start the FlowForce Server Web and the FlowForce Server services.
Linux
Before migrating data on Linux, take the following steps:
1.Uninstall the previous version of FlowForce Server. Note that deinstallation does not remove the application data directory. For more information, see Important Paths. The path to the application data directory depends on the major version of FlowForce Server (for example, /var/opt/FlowForceServer2024).
2.Install FlowForce Server 2025. This creates a new application data directory with the default configuration data (for example, /var/opt/FlowForceServer2025).
To migrate data to FlowForce Server 2025, follow the instructions below:
1.Stop the FlowForce Web Server service if it is running:
sudo systemctl stop flowforcewebserver
2.Stop the FlowForce Server service if it is running. Use the same command as above but replace flowforcewebserver with flowforceserver.
3.Remove or rename the NEW data directory created during the installation:
sudo rm -rf /var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/data
4.Migrate the EXISTING data by running the migratedb command available in the command-line interface of FlowForce Server. For example:
sudo /opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/bin/flowforceserver migratedb
--olddatadir=/var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data
--datadir=/var/opt/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/data
5.Start the FlowForce Web Server service:
sudo systemctl start flowforcewebserver
6.Start the FlowForce Server service. Use the same command as above but replace flowforcewebserver with flowforceserver.
macOS
Note the following prerequisites:
•FlowForce Server 2025 must be installed (see Installation on macOS).
•Perform data migration as a user with administrative (root) privileges.
To migrate data to FlowForce Server 2025, follow the instructions below:
1.Stop the FlowForce Server service:
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.altova.FlowForceServer.plist
2.Stop the FlowForce Web Server service:
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.altova.FlowForceWebServer.plist
3.Remove or rename the data directory that was created during the installation:
sudo rm -rf /var/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/data
4.Run the migratedb command:
sudo /usr/local/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/bin/FlowForceServer migratedb
--olddatadir=/var/Altova/FlowForceServer2024/data
--datadir=/var/Altova/FlowForceServer2025/data
5.Start the FlowForce Server service:
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.altova.FlowForceServer.plist
6.Start the FlowForce Web Server service:
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.altova.FlowForceWebServer.plist