iBase backup policies
A backup policy is essential to ensure that you can recover your data. It is important to establish a backup policy that covers all the elements of an iBase installation.
Consider implementing a backup policy that includes the following:
A daily backup of the .idb and .ids.
A daily backup of the main database and the _Log database.
A daily backup of the _Sec database, if it has been upsized to SQL Server.
A daily check on the free disk space for the SQL Server.
If the security file is in Access format, a weekly check that the size of the .ids file is less than 1GB. If it is larger, you can use repair and compact and Audit Viewer to purge some older log files.
A monthly review of statistics for the main database and the _Log database.
A six-monthly review of the size of your different SQL Server databases. If the server memory is insufficient, you might see performance issues when processing large numbers of records.
In addition to your regular backup cycle, there are other occasions when you should also make a backup. Some examples include:
Before you upsize a Microsoft Access database (or security file) to SQL Server
Before and after you import data using Bulk Import
Before you delete the records held in a case
Before you convert a database to case control
Before you use Update Database Schema
Before you synchronize a database subset with an iBase database in Microsoft Access format
Attention: It is safest to perform backups while no users are performing operations on the database and no services are running.
Some iBase operations can take place over a relatively long time and affect multiple database records. Examples of such operations are data imports, batch edit, batch delete, merge, or deletion of entities with many links.
If a backup was performed during such an operation, and the database is subsequently restored from the backup, the operation restores data on which work was in progress and is potentially in an incomplete state.