Backup
Database Administrator is a separate program that manages the database and offers additional data protection and maintenance functions.
Each data element is listed in the Database Administrator under the 'Data Backup' tab. To manually back up one or all of these data elements, click the element to back up and press the 'Backup Data Now' button. A backup archive will be created and displayed in the space adjacent to the data elements entitled 'Archive Name'.
To automatically back up any or all of the data elements listed in the 'Select Data Set' area, first click the data set to be scheduled. Note that the POS Data element is the main data for Point of Success.
The latest 50 backup files will be stored. (The number of backup files retained is configurable - see below.) On the 51st backup, the earliest backup will be automatically deleted. This helps keep the backup folder from growing without the user's knowledge. To store more than 50 archive/backup files, copy the files to another location on the hard drive from the c:\point of success\backup folder.
There are several options available for backing up date files. Each set of data can be configured to automatically back up at different intervals. Scheduling the backup functions only needs to be configured once. Backups will occur according to the scheduling at each interval scheduled.
Press the 'Edit Backup Schedule' to set the parameters of the automatic backup. Each time the scheduled time arrives, the backup will automatically occur. NOTE: Backing up data does not require that all users exit the programs and can be done while the data is being used. It is recommended that backups be scheduled during times of light or no use on the system, however, to ensure that there is no interruption in serve or performance issues which may occur during backups.
There are two settings that are useful to configure for the database. This is technical but its benefits are excellent should one need these functions.
MaxBackupFiles |
This setting controls how many backup files (dbz) are kept in the Backup folder. The default is 50. Example: [Server Parameters] MaxBackupFiles=30 |
BackupFolderCloud |
Secondary Backup folder for use with Dropbox, etc. Example: [Server Parameters] BackupFolderCloud=c:\Dropbox |
Steps to use these settings:
1. On the desktop, right-click and choose 'New' to create a new file. Rename the file dbserver.ini. This will be the file you create and edit to put in the settings you desire. Note: when you change the extension from ".txt" to ".ini" it will give you the following warning:
2. Click "Yes" to accept the change to dbserver.ini. Note the icon will change. The file should look like this:
2. Edit the file you created. Use Notepad or another text editor to edit the file. Right-click on the file and choose to Open the file.
3. The first line should say [Server Parameters] including the square brackets. An example follows.
4. Once one or both of the parameters are defined, click File, Save to save the changes to this file.
5. Put the file in place - in the C:\Program Files (x86)\ADBServer folder.
There are other files in this location as well. You may get a warning that says:
Click "Continue" to copy the file in the ADBServer folder.
6. IMPORTANT: Restart the Arsenal Database Server. To do this, click start and type "Services" and run the Services app. You will see this window:
Simply click "Restart" and the Arsenal Database Server will stop and restart - using the new dbserver.ini configuration file you copied in in step 5. Rebooting the computer will also restart the Arsenal Database Server.
This configuration file will set either or both of these settings for the database server. Both are explained below.
MaxBackupFiles
By default, Arsenal Database Server retains 50 backup files. However, if hard drive space is at a premium or fewer files are required, setting this number allows a different number of files to be retained. Use this configuration to set the number of files to be retained.
BackupFolderCloud
By default, the Arsenal Database Server stores the backup files in a folder under the Point of Success folder called "Backup". That location is not backed up anywhere else. So if the hard disc crashes or it is stolen, there is no external copy to resort to. Adding a BackupFolderCloud creates an additional copy of the backup in a location that can be transferred to off-site storage. For example, setting the BackupFolderCloud location in the configuration file to d:\dropbox\POSbackup would copy the backup file so that it can be uploaded automatically by Dropbox. OneDrive, Box, iDrive, and other services have the same functionality. These services have a location on the local hard drive that uploads everything contained in that folder to a secure location. This is a smart way to safeguard data and provide a disaster recovery solution.