diff --git a/docs/EN_US/HPCCSystemAdmin/HPCCSystemAdministratorsGuide.xml b/docs/EN_US/HPCCSystemAdmin/HPCCSystemAdministratorsGuide.xml
index b5e8466344b..b33fc7f033c 100644
--- a/docs/EN_US/HPCCSystemAdmin/HPCCSystemAdministratorsGuide.xml
+++ b/docs/EN_US/HPCCSystemAdmin/HPCCSystemAdministratorsGuide.xml
@@ -721,6 +721,146 @@
workunits in the event of a loss. In addition it would affect every
other Thor/Roxie cluster in the same environment if you lose this
node.
+
+
+ Restoring Dali from backup
+
+ If configured correctly, Dali creates a backup or mirror
+ copy to a secondary location on another physical server.
+ (Bare-metal only).
+
+ Systems can be configured with their own scheduled backup to
+ create a snapshot of the primary store files to a custom location.
+ The same steps apply when using a snapshot copy of a backup set as
+ when using the mirror copy. In other words, this technique applies
+ to either bare-metal or k8s deployments.
+
+ The Dali meta files are comprised of:
+
+
+
+ store.<NNNN>
+ (e.g., store.36). This file is a reference to the current Dali
+ meta file edition. There should never be more than one of
+ these files. The NNNN is used to determine the current base
+ and delta files in use.
+
+
+
+ dalisds<NNNN>.xml
+ (e.g., dalisds36.xml). This is the main Dali meta info file,
+ containing all logical file, workunit, and state information.
+ Sasha (or Dali on save) periodically creates new versions
+ (with incrementally rising NNNN’s). It will keep the last T
+ copies (default 10) based on the configuration option
+ “keepStores”.
+
+
+
+ daliinc<NNNN>.xml
+ (e.g., daliinc36.xml). This is the delta transaction log. Dali
+ continuously writes to this file, recording all changes that
+ are made to any meta data. It is used to playback changes and
+ apply them to the base meta info from the
+ dalisds<NNNN>xml file.
+
+ Specifically, when Sasha creates a new store version, it
+ loads the base file (e.g., dalisds36.xml), then loads and
+ applies the delta file (e.g., daliinc36.xml). Sasha then has
+ its own independent representation of the current state and
+ saves a new base file (e.g., dalisds(NNNN+1).xml).
+
+
+
+ dalidet<NNNN>.xml
+ (e.g., dalidet36.xml). This file is created at the point that
+ Sasha starts the process of creating a new base file. At which
+ point it atomically renames the delta transaction file to a
+ ‘det’ file (short for 'detached'). For example, it renames
+ daliinc36.xml to dalidet36.xml. Dali then continues to write
+ new transactions to daliinc36.xml.
+
+
+
+ dalisds_<MMMM>.bv2 files. These
+ files are in effect part of the main store (part of
+ dalisdsNNNN.xml). They are single large values that were
+ deemed too big to keep in Dali memory, and written to disk
+ separately instead (and are loaded on demand).
+
+
+
+ If Dali is shutdown cleanly and saves its files as expected,
+ the daliinc*.xml and dalidet*.xml files are not needed, since it
+ saves the entire state of the store directly from internal memory,
+ and on startup, there is no daliincNNNN.xml or dalidetNNNN.xml
+ related to the new version.
+
+ These transaction delta files are only used by Sasha when
+ creating new versions of the base store or if Dali has been
+ stopped abruptly (e.g., machine rebooted). If Dali restarts after
+ an unclean exit, there will be a daliincNNN.xml (and possibly a
+ dalidetNNNN.xml file if Sasha was actively creating a new version
+ at the time). In those cases, Dali will load these files in
+ addition to the base file.
+
+ By default Dali’s main data store directory is
+ /var/lib/HPCCSystems/hpcc-data/dali/ . In other words, all meta
+ data is written to and read from this location.
+
+ When restoring from a backup:
+
+ Make sure Dali is not running
+
+
+
+ Make sure the /var/lib/HPCCSystems/hpcc-data/dali
+ folder is empty.
+
+
+
+ Copy all pertinent backup file into the
+ /var/lib/HPCCSystems/hpcc-data/dali folder:
+
+
+
+ One store.NNNN file
+
+
+
+ One dalisdsNNNN.xml file
+
+
+
+ <=1 daliincNNNN.xml file (only if
+ present)
+
+
+
+ <=1 dalidetNNNN.xml file (only if
+ present)
+
+
+
+ All dalisds_MMMM.bv2 files.
+
+
+
+ Other/older dalisds/daliinc/dalidet editions could
+ be copied, but the above are the only ones that will be used. In
+ other words, only the NNNN version based on the single store.NNNN
+ file will be loaded.
+
+ The automatic back to a mirror location is bare-metal only.
+ In a cloud deployment, it is assumed that the storage choices
+ provided by the cloud provider are providing redundancy, such as
+ multi-zone replication.
+
+ In either case, and/or if a manual strategy has been used to
+ copy Dali’s files on a schedule, the process of restoring from a
+ backup should be the same.
+