Backup database

Main Menu - Tools- Backup database

This option is used to backup database to a file or files

You must specify the database to backup and the backup file or files, when you enter multiple files you must provide the file size of the files but last. You can select the backup file size on Kilobytes, Megabytes or Gigabytes.

Usually you create backup files smaller than 2 Gigabytes to be transportable between different file systems (FAT32, NTFS, EXT2...) because some file systems don't support files greater than 2 Gigabytes.

You can select a pre-configured database also.

If you are doing backup from the server simply write the paths to the files, but if you are restoring a database from another machine you must consider the Type of backup option.

Service and Use command line tool as a service

The paths of the backup files and database files are relative to the server, so you must specify the path to backup files and database files as if you are doing the operation from the server. On the backup files you can use UNC paths ((\\machine\sharedfolder) or maped drives paths. On the database files you only can specify server volumes and paths.

Use command line tool (not as a service)

As the option above the database files are relative to the server and must reside on server volumes, but the backup files are relative to the client machine, you can also use UNC paths or mapped drive paths to obtain the same result of the service options but be aware that all the backup data first go to the client it sends to the server ocuping net bandwith, so the best way to backup a database in a low connection enviroment is do it as a service (but the backup file will be created on the server).

Use command line tool and Service

Use command line tool option executes the gbak utility on the client machine, while service option executes a service via the Interbase API so an Interbase 6 server is required to use this option.

Options

You can specify additional options clicking options button (by default this options are hide).

See Interbase documentation for information about this options in Operatiors Guide on the Backup and Restore chapter.

When the backup begins you can see a Window with the progress indicator, when using services you can save the progress to a file, see service progres for more information.

See also:

Database management index

Database connection samples