Back up the Database

The topics in this section explain how to make a backup of your database at any time, typically for restoration or archival purposes. Geo SCADA Expert also has the ability to generate an automatic backup of the database whenever you upgrade the Geo SCADA Expert software on a server. This is a different type of backup. For more information, see Automatic Database Backup on Upgrade.

You can make a backup of your database at any time without shutting down the Geo SCADA Expert server(s). When you have made a backup, you can use the backup files to restore your database to its original state (that is, restore the data that has been lost or corrupted since the backup took place).

We recommend that you back up your database:

When making potentially harmful changes to your system, such as compressing a database or changing the server arrangement
Routinely, so that you can restore your database when unexpected events occur, such as server anomalies (when there is no redundancy) and human mistakes, for example, accidental deletions.

The backup will only be performed by the Main server.

Geo SCADA Expert will continue to synchronize data between the Main server and the Standby servers during the backup.

When you make a backup, we recommend that you include the Geo SCADA Expert registry keys, as these contain information about the setup of your server at the time of the backup.

NOTE: Geo SCADA Expert stores username and password information in the registry for use with features such as e-mail, alarm redirection, and system commands. Such information is encrypted using machine details to prevent the encrypted data from being imported onto other machines. Encrypted registry data is intended only to be decrypted by the server that encrypted the data. If you load backup registry files that include encrypted data onto a different server, you will have to re-enter the user data. This is also true if Windows® is re-installed on the machine on which the data was encrypted.

NOTICE

LOSS OF DATA

During the backup process, Geo SCADA Expert will not save to disk any changes that users make to the database. Geo SCADA Expert will store the changes in memory, and then save them to disk when the backup is complete. Therefore, we recommend that users do not make any changes to the database when a backup is running.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in loss of data.

NOTICE

LOSS OF DATA

If you use a third-party application to back up your Geo SCADA Expert database, this application may back up database files that are currently open. Consequently, when you attempt to restore these files, the data they contained may have been lost. Therefore, we recommend that you first perform a backup from Geo SCADA Expert before you perform your backup with the third-party application.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in loss of data.

To back up your database:

In ViewX, Configure a Backup Database Item.
Either:
- Initiate a Database Backup Manually
  Or:
- Configure Geo SCADA Expert to make Scheduled Database Backups.

When a backup is taking place, you can: