Data backups...how do YOU do it?

[chpicker]

We need to come up with some kind of data backup scheme beyond RAID arrays. The question is, how to go about it?

Is there any easy way to copy a database and all of its tables to a new location, such as on a network computer? Or must you copy each table individually, then recreate the database and add the tables? This would cause a loss of long names, persistent relationships and such...

I'd rather avoid having to copy the files themselves using DOS commands or the Windows API, as I would have to have all users log off while doing so. While I certainly understand that most businesses do it this way, this is a 24 hour system and can't afford to be down as long as it would take to copy all of the data over.

Any suggestions?

 

[DEDMOD]

Exactly how big are these databases? I've started using my new CD writable drive and was pleased on how fast it copied things. Couldn't you find the few minutes sometime during the day or night to make a backup that way? One advantage it'd have is that all the relationships would be preserved in the file structure.

The problem I see with creating a copy elsewhere and then swapping from one to the other is how you deal with changes made while the data is being copied. If one table is copied before a record is deleted and a child table is copied later, then your backup will have bad data. OTOH, if you lock everything anyway, what's the advantage in the first place?

Of course, a harddrive to harddrive backup would be the fastest... well, I take that back. Some of the multidrive systems have entire drives in RAM and that would be even faster if you could stand the cost. Of course memory is a lot cheaper than in the old days and if your data is only a gig or two that may be the way to go. You could backup to ramdisk quickly and then save that to another back-up media at leasure.

Dave Dardinger.

 

[dgrewe]

Have you tried looking a Computer Associates.
They have a package that mirrors hard drives/directories between NT/2000 servers? David W. Grewe
Dave@internationalbid.com