On-Demand Backups

From time to time, you will likely have to create database backups outside of the scheduled backups created by your database maintenance plan. This is often required when installing newer versions of your MetaCommunications server software or when upgrading MS SQL Server.

Instructions for creating on-demand backups for databases differ slightly for databases hosted by MS SQL Server 2000 vs. databases hosted by MS SQL Server 2005. Instructions for each are provided below.

Procedures

Creating An On-Demand Database Backup In MS SQL Server 2005

Open Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Management Studio, log in, and navigate to the database you want to back up.
Right click the database you want to back up. A context menu will appear.
Select Tasks and Back Up... in the context menu. The Back Up Databases window will open.
Select the database you want to back up from the Database drop down list in the Source group.
Select “Full” from the Backup type drop down list in the Source group.
Select the “Database” radio button in the Backup component list in the Source group.
Type a backup name in the Name field of the Backup set group.
Type a backup description in the Description field of the Backup set group.
Select the After radio button in the Backup set will expire group.
Type “0” (zero, without quotes) in the days field of the Backup set will expire group.
Click the Disk radio button in the Destination group.
Click Add in the Destination group. The Select Backup Destination window will open.
Click the Browse button ( ). The Locate Database Files window will appear.
Browse to and select the location in which you want to create your database backup file.
Select “Backup Files(*.bak, *.trn)” in the File of type drop down list.
Type a file name in the File Name field. Make sure to include the “.bak” extension.
Click OK when finished. The Select Backup Destination window will open again, displaying the selected backup destination and file name.
Review your selected destination and click OK. The Select Backup Destination window will close and the Back Up Database window will reappear, displaying the selected backup destination and file name.
Review your backup settings and click OK. The database will begin backing up. A progress indicator will appear in the lower left hand corner of the Back Up Database window.

When the backup is complete, the Complete window will appear.
Click OK in the Complete window. The window will close and return you to the MS SQL Server 2005 Management Studio.
At this point you have successfully created a full backup of your database. You can repeat this procedure for other MetaCommunications databases you want to back up.

Creating An On-Demand Database Backup In MS SQL Server 2000

Warning: MS SQL Server 2000 is no longer supported by MetaCommunications products. This information is retained for customers using older versions.

Open Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager, log in, and navigate to the database you want to back up.
Right click the database you want to back up. A context menu will appear.
Select All Tasks and Backup Database... in the context menu. The SQL Server Backup window will open.
Select the database you want to back up from the Database drop down list.
Select “Full” from the Backup type drop down list in the Source group.
Type a name for the backup in the Name field.
Type a description for the backup in the Description field.
Select the “Database - complete” radio button in the Backup group.
Click Add in the Destination group. The Select Backup Destination window will open.
Browse to and select the backup destination. The selected destination will appear in the File name field.
Type the backup file name at the end of the destination appearing above. Make sure to use a “.bak” extension for the file name. The file name field should now look similar to what appears in the screen capture below.
Click OK when finished defining the backup destination and file name. The Select Backup Destination window will close, returning you to the SQL Server Backup window.
Select the Append to media radio button in the Overwrite group. This will ensure that the database backup is appended to any existing backup file with the same name as that specified in the steps above. If you elect to use the Overwrite setting, any existing backup files with the specified name will be overwritten with the new backup file.
Click OK when done. A backup progress window will appear.

When the backup is complete, the Backup Progress window will close and a Backup Complete window will appear.
Click OK in the Backup Complete window. The window will close and return you to the MS SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager.
At this point you have successfully created a full backup of your database. You can repeat this procedure for other MetaCommunications databases you want to back up.