Best Practices for 12d Synergy Backups

Option A: SQL Server Agent

Installations with a paid edition of SQL Server can use the built-in SQL Server Agent tool to schedule database backups.

Please see this guide from Microsoft: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/sqlagent/2010/10/12/create-a-database-backup-job-using-sql-server-management-studio/

Option B: SQL Backup and FTP

A simple way to setup backups is via a third party software application called SQL Backup and FTP, available from http://sqlbackupandftp.com

This product is free for users with less than 3 databases.

We have used this software successfully for setting up backups. We must however caution that this is a third party product that is not affiliated with 12d Solutions and we do not provide support for it. 12d Solutions it not liable for any consequences of choosing to use this software.

Option C: Scheduled Tasks

Another way to schedule backups is through Windows Scheduled Tasks.

Please see this guide from Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/kb/2019698

How to Create a Manual Once-Off Backup

This applies to any SQL Server edition:

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the 12d Synergy Database Server
2. Right click the 12d Synergy database and select Tasks and then Backup.
   Use the following options
   Backup type: Full
   Copy-only backup: Yes
   Backup component: Database
   Destination: Click Add and choose a folder and filename that does not already exist
3. Click OK

Performing a File System Backup

There are several data files - all the file system stored in your system:

1. Data Files
   Your core data files - all the files stored in your system
2. Index Files
   Index Files store search information. While you don't have to back these up, without them, you may not be able to search accurately until the index is restored. This can be take some time to run.
3. General Store
   The general store, which contains various miscellaneous files, should also be backed up.

Backup Strategy

Backup strategy refers to the frequency and type of backups that are automatically scheduled.

You can schedule a backup depending on your needs, and the capabilities may very depending on the tools you choose. 12d Solutions recommends at least the following:

1. Scheduled once a day (midnight) - full file backup, with all components above
2. Scheduled once a day (noon) - differential backup, with only the Data Files component

Backup Options

12d Solutions does not recommend one backup system over another, and there are several options available to you. Many of these tools provide a schedule for backing up data. These tools may also have the capability to backup from the Volume Shadow Service, to prevent backing up partially written files and speed up the overall process.

There are also a number of windows tools you can use as part of a scheduled task, such as Robocopy and WBAdmin.

Putting it all Together

It is important that you schedule your backups together so that both the files and database are backed up in sync. Having one tool that can manage both your database and file based backups would therefore be beneficial.

Maintenance Mode

It is recommended that for a full system backup that you put the system into maintenance mode manually so that nobody can login.

You can do this simply using an SQL Statement against the database as follows:

UPDATE Setting SET VALUE = 1 /* Maintenance Mode is ON */ WHERE Name LIKE '%IsMaintenanceMode%'

When completed, you can turn off maintenance mode with the following SQL

UPDATE Setting SET VALUE = NULL /* Maintenance Mode is OFF */ WHERE Name LIKE '%IsMaintenanceMode%'