Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Data Management:
Database Administration

Determining the type of backup

It is possible to perform either an OpenEdge backup (the PROBKUP utility) or an operating system backup. Which you choose depends upon the needs of your business. Table 4–1 contrasts OpenEdge and operating system backups.

Table 4–1: Backup options

OpenEdge	Operating system
Online or offline	Offline only
Full or incremental	Full only

To determine whether an online or offline backup should be used, ask:

Is the database active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is it possible to shut down the database for backing up?

If the database must run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, an online backup is necessary. If it does not, an offline backup can be used.

To determine whether a full or incremental backup is best, ask:

Does the entire database fit on one volume of backup media? If not, will someone be present to change volumes during the backup?

If the database fits on one volume or someone is present to change volumes, a full backup can be performed. If not, consider using incremental backups.

Using PROBKUP instead of an operating system backup offers these advantages:

PROBKUP automatically backs up all files required to recover a consistent database.
PROBKUP allows both online and incremental backups, in addition to offline and full backups.
PROBKUP allows users access to the database during an online backup.
PROBKUP automatically marks the database as backed up.
The Restore (PROREST) utility lets you easily verify backups.

If you choose not to use PROBKUP, you can use an operating system backup utility, but you cannot perform online or incremental backups. The exception to this rule is splitting a disk mirror during a quiet point to perform an operating system backup on the broken mirror. See the "Using database quiet points" section for information on using quiet points in a backup. Be sure that the backup utility you choose backs up the entire set of files. Backing up a partial database provides an invalid result.

Note: Regardless of the backup method chosen, perform a complete database restore to test all backups and validate that the database is correct.