Ways to backup Vault repository

[ankuranand]

Hi,

I just downloaded Vault for evaluation purpose. So far I like it. The only Qs I have so far is backups. I tried to backup the repository using the web admin. It did create a .sgvbak file. But I cant find this file on the filesystem. I need to put the backups on a remote server. I am trying to avoid having to backup the 3 vault sql server databases.

Does the Folder Export/Import also create a backup of the repository?

Is there another way to backup the repository (an automated way would be better).



Thanks for your time.
- Ankur

[Beth]

There are 3 databases that make up the Vault backend and all three have to be backed up. The backup found in the Vault admin web page runs a default SQL backup on all three databases. Since it's a SQL backup being created, the backups are placed in the default location for SQL backups. The location of that is set by your SQL Server. Usually you can find it in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.SQL2008\MSSQL\Backup or something similar to that. The path I gave is for SQL 2008.

The most effective automated way to make SQL backups is to use either SQL Server Management Studio or SQLCMD.

Microsoft has articles available on how to backup SQL databases:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187510.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms180944.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191002.aspx (backups can be added to maintenance plans)

The Folder Export/Import tool could be used for backups, but I don't see it as being the most effective method. It's not really intended for that purpose. It just takes a copy of the source code and history and places it into a file. You would be missing any server or user configuration in your database. Using this method would take much longer in both backing up and restoring.

There are also third party tools that create and manage SQL backups. We don't have details about the various products, but running a search should yield a lot of packages you can look into.

[ankuranand]

Thanks Beth. That's really helpful.

[Beth]

You're welcome.