Backup FUNCTION

efassetta

Hi,

how is possible to launch the function for Navision BACKUP without open Navision?

Thank's

kine

If you do not want hotcopy, it is not possible to run it without running client. All solutions are something as scripted run of the client (simulating keystrokes etc.)...

Christian_Buehl

Navision is very handy in this if you use the native database (not SQL-Server).
It seems to be impossible to get inconsistencies when just doing any backup (even when users are logged in). I tried many times and always it worked, but there is not guarantee that it will always work.

Even better is doing a backup by night when nobody is logged in to system. You don't need any special backup software for this step, just copy the database file or include it into your standard backup.
If you have users logged in during your backup timeframe, you can use the hotcopy command to create a separate copy of your full database which is always consistent. Then you can backup this database copy.

To backup only parts of your database you need the integrated backup function. These backups are smaller (compression) and can additionally be used for archiving as these files can usually be used with higher versions of navision (e.g. you can read a Navision 2.01 backup into an empty Navision 3.7 System without problems, you will only miss the new features of the 3.7 Objects).

For backing up SQL-Server based databases you may need special add-ons which are available for all common backup software. Therefore just have a look on a SQL-Server-Agent or something like this instead of looking anything special for Navision (it's just a database like every other).

Poltergeist

Copying the databasefile will work, if the database only consists of one part. If there are more parts, you will have to use HotCopy to create a full working copy of the database, or stop the database service, copy the files, and start the database service.

Christian_Buehl

Sorry I don't fully agree in this. It works with several parts, apparently my database has two parts.
But, you may be right, It's a bit more difficult to start in a different environment after restore.
You need to start Navision (client) once a time manually with parameters database=d:\dbpart1.fdp+e:\dbpart2.fdb
After this first start, which may reconstruct some open blocks if you backed up during active usage everything works as before.

Poltergeist

And I do not agree with you. I've tried several times to make a database copy of a database with several parts. If no users are in the database (and no data is altered) the copy works. However, when users are in the database, the data in the different database parts will be inconsistant, making it impossible to restore the parts.

frede

Poltergeist is rigth. I've tried copying multiple database-parts in a running Navision - and it didn't work...

Dennis_Decoene

I have corrupted a database once after copying it. The server was running and clients where connected. It was a 2.01 database and server on a WinNT4. Both the original and the copy were corrupt...

Maybe in later versions this was corrected. I never tried again