Backing up SGV datafiles

[Jesse]

Two backup-related questions:

- If I run Ghost 9.0 to make a backup image of my drive, will I have a useable copy of my Vault datafiles?

- If I want to manually copy my Vault datafiles to a CD, which files do I need to copy?

Thanks!

[jclausius]

If you ghost the drive, assuming the image contains the SQL Server as well as the databases, that *might* work.

As far as your repository and the information goes, backing up the SQL database (either through the Vault Admin Tool or with a SQL Query) will give you the files you can use to restore in the case of catastrophe.

You could also temporarily detach, copy/backup the sgvault.mdf and sgvault_log.ldf files, and then re-attach the database - but this is an offline type of backup. Note, do not just make a copy of the .mdf / .ldf unless you've detached the database.

As for the Vault server, the web.config / vault.config files will contain any server related settings.

HTH

[Jesse]

Thanks, Jeff -- that's good to know. I've actually been stopping (or sometimes "pausing") SQL Server, then ghosting the drive and/or copying the mdf & ldf files to a CD. Haven't had to field-test the integrity of my backups... yet.

I'm assuming that stopping the SQL Server entirely is equivalent to detaching the db. Any idea what "pausing" the server does?

[jclausius]

I'm assuming that stopping the SQL Server entirely is equivalent to detaching the db. Any idea what "pausing" the server does?

I've seen reports / posts where this does work.

However, I like to do things more "by the book". So, I'd recommend using a detach / attach or backup / restore strategy.