Restoring a Backup Within MainBoss

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SQL Server offers various methods for restoring a database from a backup file. For further information, see the SQL Server documentation.

However, you can also restore a database from within MainBoss itself, using facilities in the Maintenance Organization window. (This is the window that lets you choose a database to open. One way to open this window is to go to MainBoss's Session menu and click Change Maintenance Organization.)

MainBoss offers two operations for restoring databases from backup:

• Restore Organization (on the Upgrade button's drop-down list) overwrites an existing database. First you select the database to be overwritten (by clicking on the entry for that database in your Maintenance Organization list), then you click on Restore Organization to specify the backup file you want to use.
  
  Typically, you would use Restore Organization if you made some sort of large-scale error that you wanted to undo (e.g. mistakenly generating and committing a large number of planned maintenance work orders). Restore Organization is not intended for situations where your database is no longer usable because it's been deleted or corrupted.
  
  Restore Organization is particularly useful when you're just getting started with MainBoss. For example, you can backup your database and then experiment with various ways of setting up your work (especially planned maintenance tasks). If you decide to take a different approach, you can restore from your backup and try again.
  
  Restore Organization also ensures that the permissions on the database file are the ones that MainBoss needs and expects. This can be helpful if the permissions somehow get changed.
• Create New Organization from a Backup (on the Add Existing Organization button's drop-down list) creates a separate new database using data from a backup file.
  
  Typically, you would use Create New Organization from a Backup if your original database has been deleted or corrupted. You could also use this operation if you wanted to create a test database using data obtained from your production database.

In both cases, MainBoss performs the operation by submitting requests to SQL Server. You must therefore have SQL Server Administrator privileges to perform either operation.

Restore operations are run by SQL Server itself on the computer where SQL Server is running. Because SQL Server does the work, the backup file you want to use must be accessible to the login name under which SQL Server runs. Furthermore, the name of the backup file should be relative to the computer where SQL Server is running. Unless the file name explicitly begins with \\computer or a drive name (e.g. C:\), the file name will be assumed to be relative to SQL Server's home directory. (This is true even if the file name begins with a \.)

For example, suppose SQL Server is running on Computer X and you submit a restore request while working on Computer Y. MainBoss will ask you to specify the name of the backup file containing the database you want to restore. Suppose you give the name

C:\MyBackups\Monday.bak

You may think this refers to a file on Computer Y's C: drive. However, the restore operation is performed by SQL Server on Computer X; therefore, SQL Server will try to find the file on Computer X's C: drive, not Computer Y. If the directory C:\MyBackups doesn't exist on Computer X (or if SQL Server's login name doesn't have permissions to read that folder), you'll get an error message and the restore operation won't work.

For this reason, we recommend that you only submit restore requests while logged in to the computer where SQL Server is running. You should also be aware of what permissions SQL Server has and what files will actually be accessible to SQL Server's login name.

Backup Format: There are several different ways to create a backup with Microsoft SQL Server. MainBoss assumes that you did the backup using the backup facilities inside MainBoss itself, or in some other way that uses the same backup format. However, it is possible to create database backup files in such a way that MainBoss cannot restore from the file. This happens when you do the backup with SQL Server Management Studio and specify options that create backup files whose format is different than the one MainBoss expects.

In this case, you can still restore the database from the backup file. You just have to use Management Studio directly, rather than using MainBoss.

Command Format: When you click Restore Organization, MainBoss lists the available backup file and asks you to pick the one you want to restore. When you click Create New Organization from a Backup, MainBosss ask you to specify the following:

Database Server: The network location of the SQL Server through which you will access the database. If you click the accompanying "..." button, MainBoss displays a list of database servers that are known to your Windows system. There may be additional servers that you can use but that Windows doesn't currently know about.

Database Name: The name of the database you want to create. This cannot match any existing database on the given server.

Organization Name: A name that you personally will use for this database. This should not be the same as the organization name for any other database.

Backup file: Fill in the field with one of the names in your list of backup names (as given in Administration | Backups). If you choose a name from this list, MainBoss tries to restore from the associated backup file.

MainBoss's list of backup files only contains files made inside MainBoss using Administration | Backups. The list doesn't backups made directly with SQL Server Management Studio.

Backup Set number: Used only if the backup file was created using SQL Server options related to backup sets. For backups made with Administration | Backups inside MainBoss, leave "Backup Set number" blank.

Once you have specified the required data, click OK. This submits an appropriate request to SQL Server, which performs the restoration.

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