Backing Up Files

There are three parts to the backup system on the staff server.

Taped Backup

The server automatically backs up the user shares (Public, Users, Profiles, S&S, etc.) to a tape once a week on Sunday at 1:00 AM. There are three tapes for this backup, and they should be rotated once a week. This way, we will always have data up to 3 weeks old.

This is done using the "Backup" program by Veritas/Microsoft.

External Hard Drive Backup

The server automatically backs up the entire D: drive to an external hard drive once a week on Saturday at 1:00 AM.  Make sure the drive is on the day before the backup.

This is done using a DOS batch file. It doesn't use compression or any other special data storage.

Off-site Backup

We will also back up our files off-site.  We have explored doing it with an online service or using the county's resources.

Public Server

The public server also makes routine backups, but only to one tape.

Web Server

The Web Server has a batch file that is a regularly scheduled (weekly) task copying all files of the web site to a folder on the public server. There is another batch file that backs up the mysql database of the web site to the same folder on the public server.

Time Card Database

We make regular manual backups of the SQL server database that contains the timecard info.

This just requires connecting to the management application using the default authentication under administrator. Then one goes to the database to be backed up, right-clicks and selects "Tasks" and Backup. The options should be pretty straightforward, except for selecting a location. One will probably want to add a new location for the backup file before running the backup. After the backup, one may want to delete the older file if desired.

Maintenance

The backup system is semi-automatic. It needs a little bit of supervision:

• On Fridays, someone needs to rotate the tapes for the staff server.
• All three parts of the backup should be tested/checked once a month:
  • Taped Backup - view the Backup Report (found in the Tools menu)
  • Hard Drive Backup - view the Scheduled Tasks log (found in the Advanced menu.) An exit code of 0 means the task completed successfully. Anything else means there was a problem.
  • Off-site Backup - ??