In the Premier Edition, roomMaster automatically performs a database backup after the dayend close completes.  The database backup file is placed on the C: drive of the server where the database engine is running - the Boot Partition.  Because of this, the location of the backed up databases will always be in C:\RMBACKUP-roommaster and cannot be changed.

Note: This is the startup drive of the server (C:), not the drive where Sybase SQL Anywhere or roomMaster is installed! 

Inside this folder will be sub-folders indicating each type of backup performed, such as Forced, Daily, NightAudit, Sunday, Monday, etc. - The NightAudit folder is the backup BEFORE the last night audit has run, where-as the other folders are AFTER the night audit has run.  You should only restore the NightAudit folder if the Night Audit crashed. 

Your backup software should be copying the entire C:\RMBACKUP-roommaster folder and sub-folders to your removable media (tape, Iomega ZIP/REV drive, CD/DVD-R, etc.).  It is extremely important to have backups on removable media so you can recover from any server crashes.  We recommend having the backup to removable media performed around 6:00 AM, or whatever time by which you are sure the night audit will always be completed by.

If you are backing up to rotated tapes each night (one tape for Monday, one for Tuesday, and so on), then you can check the option Do not create a separate backup for each day of the week  in Setup > Configuration > SQL Settings to force the backup to always go to a directory named "Daily".

 

I/O Error during the Backup
If you receive an "I/O Error" during the backup procedure, that would indicate that a backup procedure may be running causing the current backup to not be able to complete.  If you do see this error, check to make sure there is no conflict occurring with your tape backup software.

 

Backup to migrate to new server

If you are migrating your server to a new location, and you are backing up the entire server, it is very important to shutdown the database engine (Start > Run > RMCONFIG > Ok > Database Tools > STOP RM Database) before backing up the files. 

Note:  DO NOT simply backup the .DB and .LOG files from the live folder/environment while the Database Engine is running – this will not produce a usable backup.  Instead, you must backup the copy of the database from the automatic database backup. 

 

Hurricane or Disaster Preparation

If you want to get a copy of your database to bring off-site, follow these simple steps:

 

1.Close down roomMaster on all workstations.
2.Setup > Configuration > SQL Settings > Force Backup
3.Copy the c:\rmbackup-roommaster\forced directory to external media (thumb-drive) and bring off-site.
4.See the Restore Database link for restoring of the database if needed.
 

Scheduled Backup

It is not required/recommended to schedule a backup on the SQL database as the database fail rate is extremely low.  However, if you wish to schedule an "afternoon" type of backup mid-day, you must pick a time that has the lowest impact on your system.  It is recommended that you pick the quietest time, such as between Checkout's and CheckIn's.   When the scheduled backup executes, it can lock all users out of the system for up to 20 seconds.   All users should be notified of this backup time, and if they see their systems freeze, they should patiently wait for the system to release itself rather than Ctrl-Alt-Del or breaking out of the program.  A recommended backup time would be about 4:30pm for most sites.  This scheduled backup will backup to the file server, boot drive, in the c:\RMBACKUP-roommaster folder, in a sub-folder called "Scheduled".