Backups

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We strongly recommend that you backup your database on a regular basis. Most commercial backup software packages can tell SQL Server to create a backup of a database, after which the backup package makes the backup. In this way, backing up your MainBoss database is automatically incorporated into your normal backup procedures.

If you use commercial backup software, check that it can, in fact, deal with SQL Server databases. With some backup software products, dealing with SQL Server is an extra that you have to pay for on top of standard backup operations.

If you do not have commercial software that deals with SQL Server, you have a number of options:

You can do backups manually through SQL Server Management Studio. For more information, see Backups with SQL Server.
You can use the MBUtility command as described in Backing Up Your Database with MBUtility.
You can back up your database inside MainBoss by using Administration | Backups. For details, see the next section.

Ideally, however, you should use automated backup facilities as discussed above, either through commercial software or through SQL Server's built-in facilities. Because these facilities operate automatically, you won't have to remember to do backups manually.

We strongly recommend that you save copies of your backup files in off-site locations. For example, you might copy your backup files to a CD or DVD, then take the disk home with you; alternatively, you could copy your backup files to a computer at a company branch office or to a location in the Internet "cloud". If your only backups are in the same building as the computers that hold your original data, a fire or flood in that building could wipe out all your records.