Necessity For SME Backups
By Mark Stair

It's critical to backup SME on a daily basis since SME contains your business information. Backing up SME data is not an option, it's a necessity!

IMPORTANT NOTE: SME uses Microsoft SQL Server, which can NOT be backed up like a file because SQL Server locks the database file. SME database file MUST be backed up using SQL Server backup tools. Most backup programs can handle SQL Server backups. SME also has facilities to backup the SQL Server to zip file.

There are a number of ways to backup SME database as follows:
1. Preferred: Use an automatic online backup tool such as iBackups. This tool has capability to backup SQL Server for SME database as well as other important business data. The advantage is that the backup is off-site in case something happens to the local server or office. After subscribing to this service, go to the SQL Server section and configure to backup the SME SQL server files. At the time of this writing, iBackups is only $10 per month for 10GB of compressed backup storage, plenty for your SME needs.

2. Automated backup tools: There are a number of automated backup tools on the market. Be sure to select a backup tool that can backup Microsoft SQL Server databases. See Wikipedia for a List of Backup Software.

3. SME Backups: SME has capability to generate a zip file of the database and user files. Once this zip file is generated, it must be backed up to another computer, tape, CD, or other source.

Backup Best Processes (adapted from Microsoft Technet)

• Develop backup and restore strategies and test them. With a good plan, you can quickly recover your data if it is lost.
• Train appropriate personnel.In minimum-security and medium-security networks, assign backup rights to one user and restore rights to a different user. Train personnel with restore rights to perform all of the restore tasks if the administrator is unavailable. In a high-security network, make sure that only administrators can restore files.
• Create a backup log. Always choose to create a backup log for each backup and print them for reference. Keep a book of logs to make it easier to locate specific files. The backup log is helpful when restoring data; you can print it or read it from any text editor. Also, if the tape containing the backup set catalog is corrupted, the printed log can help you locate a file. Some systems like iBackups send out automatic emails of backup results.
• Retain copies. Keep at least three copies of the media. Keep at least one copy off-site in a properly-controlled environment.
• Perform trial restorations. Perform a trial restoration periodically to verify that your files were properly backed up. A trial restoration can uncover hardware problems that do not show up when you verify software.
• Secure devices and media. Secure both the storage device and the backup media. It is possible for someone to access the data from a stolen medium by restoring the data to another server for which they are an administrator.