backup with Arcserve
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For making backups, we use Arcserve as backup software.. How can we stop the databases, then make a backup of the databases with Arcserve, and then start the databases. Is there a script, that stops and starts the database or SQL-server ?
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We also use Arcserve to run the company backups.
It will not backup open files, and as you said, you would have to stop SQL in order to back them up, which is not the most sensible thing to do. Arcserve does have a separate product, an agent that can backup SQL. I believe that it calls SQL's own backup system and dumpos the backup file (Full/Diff/TLog) to tape.
However we experienced problems with this solution and never managed to get a backup we could successfully restore from.
Our solution (which has worked successfully for the past 2 years) was to ensure that SQL ran it's own backups and then we scheduled Arcserver to backup the backup files (if this made sense).
If you want further information about the SQL Agent, let me know and I'll grab one of our network monkeys and get the info off to you.
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Thanks for your replay.
In the next week i try your solution.
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Something I know about ALOT we have been working on getting the backups correct at our location. It's now called britestore correct? You have to do like 3 or 4 things.
First remember that if you are backup up alot of stuff in one job that the CA Database, the one that stores the log is based off of a microsoft access db. It has 2 gb data limit after that it appears if your backup failed back it did not just the logging part of it. Need to change it to a sql connection to log it that way.
Second when you install the agent there are two programs that are installed in the local machine. You install the agent because you can not copy open files. The agent needs to be configured on the local machine. And one thing if the backup admin tells you he can see/get to the database list when creating the job and checks the databases you want backuped and the job fails that is the first place to start.
I don't even know where to start telling you all the steps. If you want more info email me. The networking people drag me thur the bcakups for 2 weeks because they could not get it correct.
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If backing up over the network use the Client Agent to improve backup times, use the OPen File Agent to ensure you back up all the files (doesn't always get everything but usually), and never use the SQL Client!
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We used Arcserve for a while.
We got around this issue by backing up the databases to a file at a specific time. Then, when we were sure that all 12 dbs had finished their backups to file, we used Arcserve to backup the file to tape.
We have done many restores and things work fine. The first thing to do is restore the backup file from the tape. Then restore the needed dbs from their files.
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If you are doing local backups you can even kick start the tape backup after the database dump is complete using a cmdexec
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Hello,
Just barely signed up for this forum. Seems to be a great resource that I'll be perusing over and over.
I'm very new to administering a SQL server. Heck, I don't even know how to spell SQL.
Now I'm in charge of backing up a very important server here at work. 
I'm going thru the same situation as the thread starter and my backups.
Using Arcserve 2000 on Windows 2000 Server
Running MS SQL 7.0 only 2 database files are important
Initially, I was stopping the SQL server using Enterprise Admin just before the backup job would kick in. I was doing that for a few weeks and it got old very quickly. Then I started navigating through Enterprise Admin's UI and found the backup option. So I created two separate jobs to backup each important database. Each database is about 2 gigs big so I gave the jobs ample time in between. The SQL backup jobs worked excellent, but when the Arceserve job got to the opened database files, it would just fail and place itself on Hold. Aaackk!!! Now I'm back to stopping the SQL server just before the Arceserve backup job. Should I just leave out the opened files and just backup the SQL backup files?
Thanks.
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You should add a filter to the machine to exclude all *.mdf, *.ldf, *.ndf files. Make sure that you backup to disk the master, model, msdb and user databases that you want so that you get all of these to tape.
Should something happen to the server you will want all of these to rebuild.
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Thanks for your quick reply, stacenic.
I'll be trying that out tonite.
Another question came to mind, though.
One of these databases is used by a phone app that requires the database to be accessible when people call in to get information. Since I'm going to use SQL's backup option to file, does that mean that the database will still be available for this other app? Changes are only made to it from 8AM to 5PM and the phone app only peforms information lookups.
Thanks.
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Yes the database will still be available for use. Don't forget to make sure to back up the system db's...
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