Regular Backups of PAW Content with Lifecycle Manager

Below is an overview of the PAW backup process using Lifecycle Manager (LCM). For a full 27-page step-by-step guide with detailed screenshots, instructions and a customer communication template, download the ACG Solution Brief.

1. What Is PAW Content

IBM Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) is the modern web-based interface for TM1/Planning Analytics. It hosts a wide range of user-created and administrator-managed content that lives outside the traditional TM1 database files:

• Dashboards and books (web reports, exploration views, scorecards)
• Custom PAW groups and user access configurations
• Templates and shared workspaces
• Application tiles, navigation structures, and custom layouts
• Planning Analytics for Excel (PAx) content linked via PAW

2. The Solution: Lifecycle Manager Exports

The most effective approach today to back up your PAW content is to use IBM Planning Analytics Lifecycle Manager (LCM) to create snapshots of the PAW environment.

Lifecycle Manager (LCM) is a built-in tool that allows administrators to export the full PAW content bundle— essentially a complete snapshot of the PAW environment— into a portable .GZ file. This file can then be stored safely and used to restore the environment in case of a DR event. 

However, LCM is not a complete solution on its own. It does not include TM1 data (which remains covered by standard backups), and it also does not capture PAW users or groups. Those elements must be exported separately to ensure that access and security can be restored alongside the content.

Export file format: LCM exports produce a single .GZ (gzip) compressed archive of all selected PAW content. This file is self-contained and can be imported back into any compatible PAW environment to restore content.

3. Step-by-Step Guide: Creating a PAW Backup

Follow these steps to export a full PAW environment snapshot. 

1. From the PAW home screen, navigate to the Administration tile

2. Inside Administration, locate the Lifecycle Management tile. This is where all snapshot creation and export operations are performed.

3. Click the blue Create button in the top-right of the Lifecycle management screen. You will see any previously created snapshots listed here for reference.

4. Name the snapshot in the Snapshot details form. Use the recommended convention: PAW_Backup_[ClientName]_YYYY-MM-DD. Add a short description, then click Next.

5. On the Add assets screen, click the Shared folder in the Available panel to expand all shared content. This is where all client-facing PAW content lives.

6. Check all folders and items in the Shared directory. The Selected panel on the right confirms what will be included in the snapshot. For a comprehensive backup, select everything. 

   1. 1. LCM Snapshot Asset Limit: 100 Assets Maximum. LCM enforces a hard limit of 100 assets per snapshot. If your environment contains more than 100 assets, you will see a "Selection limit exceeded" warning and cannot proceed with all assets selected at once. To resolve this:

         1. Split the backup into multiple snapshots (e.g., Snapshot A: folders 1–7, Snapshot B: folders 8–14)

         2. Name each snapshot clearly to indicate it is part of a set: PAW_Backup_[ClientName]_2026-05-18_Part1.gz, PAW_Backup_[ClientName]_2026-05-18_Part2.gz

         3. Export and store each .GZ file individually

         4. Document which folders are covered in each part, so restoration is straightforward. 
            
            

      2. Insufficient Permissions Warning. During asset selection, you may see an “Insufficient permissions” warning on certain items. This means the admin account used for the backup does not have Full Control on that specific book or folder. To resolve this, find the admin user in Set Permissions, change permission from No permission to Full control, and save. Return to Lifecycle Management and verify the warning icon has cleared before proceeding.
         
         

7. Once all assets are selected and any permissions issues resolved, click the blue Create button at the bottom right. 

8. Once the snapshot is created, it appears in the left-hand Snapshots list. Select it, review the asset inventory in the Content tab, then Export it as a .GZ file. 

    

9. Once the export completes, your browser will download the .GZ file automatically. The file will save to your local Downloads folder, ready to be stored in its final location.   

   1. The .GZ file is only valuable if stored somewhere reliable and accessible during a DR event, independent of the server being restored. We recommend that you store it on the cloud server at the same directory level as the data directory. Keep it outside any folder structure that may be wiped during a restore.

4. Folder Types in PAW 

A key distinction in PAW’s content structure is the difference between the Shared folder and individual users’ Personal folders:

Note: The Personal folder visible in the LCM asset selector refers to the logged-in admin’s own personal space (not other users’ personal folders). To back up another user’s personal content, you must navigate to that specific user’s folder individually.

5. Backing Up PAW Users and Groups

LCM captures PAW front-end assets— books, dashboards, and report-level permissions— but it does not export PAW Groups or user accounts. These must be handled separately.

Refer to the Solution Brief for a full walkthrough of how to export PAW Groups and user accounts.

6. Restoring from a Backup

If a DR event occurs, follow these steps to recover PAW content from a previously exported .GZ file.

1. Go to Administration → Lifecycle Management.

2. Click Import and select your saved .GZ backup file.

3. Once imported, the snapshot appears in the Snapshots list. Select it.

4. Review the Content tab to confirm assets look correct.

5. Click Deploy to restore assets back into the PAW environment.

6. Verify restored content is in the correct folder locations and permissions are intact.

7. Re-create PAW Groups using your exported Groups file from Administration → Users and Groups.

8. Re-import users from your exported Users CSV if needed.

7. Recommended Backup Schedule

We recommend a three-tier approach covering routine snapshots, change-triggered backups, and on-request personal folder coverage:

8. Action Items for the Support Team

Effective immediately, the following actions should be completed for every cloud-hosted client.

9. Looking Ahead

IBM has an enhancement on the roadmap targeted for Q3 that will upgrade PAW backup procedures. This is expected to introduce a more automated backup mechanism natively within Planning Analytics, potentially including personal folder coverage and a scheduled backup chore.

In the meantime, a complete backup can be achieved by combining three exports: the LCM .GZ snapshot for all Shared content, the Users CSV export, and the Groups export (all available from the Administration panel).

Until IBM’s enhancement is released and validated, the Lifecycle Manager export process described in this document is the recommended approach.

Summary

Further Resources

• The ACG blog post “PAW Asset Backup with Lifecycle Manager” provides a solid public-facing overview of this process and can be referenced in client communications: https://www.acgi.com/blog/paw-asset-backup-with-lifecycle-manager

• A Solution Brief is available on our website with a complete step-by-step guide to the LCM backup process, including detailed screenshots and a customer communication template.