Backup/RestoreTool for Server Settings (Project Server 2010)

Requirements

The Server Settings Backup/Restore tool has the following usage requirements:

• Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008

• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.x or 3.x

• Administrator permissions on the instance of Project Server 2010 that you are accessing

• You are migrating settings either from a Project Server 2010 site to another Project Server 2010 site, or from a Project Server 2010 upgraded site (running in Backward Compatibility Mode) to a full Project Server 2010 site.

  Note

  When moving from an upgraded site to a full site, notice that Enterprise Global will be unable to be restored.

• For most settings, you can back up and restore settings to Project Server instances without running the Project Server 2010 Server Settings Backup/Restore tool on the computer that is hosting that instance. However, for certain Workflow settings (see the Server Settings section), you must be on the server computer that is hosting the Project Server 2010 instance to run either a backup or a restore process by using the tool. If the Project Server 2010 Server Settings Backup/Restore tool is not run from a server computer for the Workflow Settings, then you may see an error message that resembles the following:

  ERROR: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.SharePoint, Version=14.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

  Note

  Do not alter a server manually during a backup or restore process, and do not run multiple instances of the Project Server 2010 Server Settings Backup/Restore tool at the same time. Either of these actions could lead to unwanted server alteration or data corruption.

Backing up server settings

The first step in using the Project Server 2010 Server Settings Backup/Restore tool is to save the server settings of the Project Server 2010 instance that you want to back up. These server settings are restored to a different Project Server 2010 instance later.

To back up server settings

1. Run Playbooks.exe to start the Project Server 2010 Server Settings Backup/Restore tool.

2. On the Select Server URL page, enter information about the Project Server 2010 instance from which you want to back up server settings.

   

   1. In the Server URL box, type the URL of the instance of Project Server 2010 from which you want to back up the server settings. By default, the URL is the name of the server on which you run the tool and targets the default PWA instance. Replace the default information if it is incorrect.

   2. Click either Use Windows Authentication or Use Forms Authentication to specify the authentication mode with which you are connecting to Project Server 2010. If you select Use Forms Authentication, type the user name and password in the corresponding text boxes. Click OK.

      Note

      If Project Server 2010 is configured for "multi-authentication" (Windows and forms-based authentication on the same URL), then you can only log on by using the Forms Authentication option.

3. On the Playbooks – Project Server Settings Backup/Restore page, click the Backup tab.

   

   1. In the File Name box, type a path and name of the backup file that you are creating to which you are exporting the server settings information. (By default, it is saved as an .xml file, but it can also be set to a binary .playbook file.) You can also use the Browse button to select a path.

   2. The read-only Source Server box shows you the URL of the server that you are currently connected to.

   3. In the optional Description box, type information about your backup.

   4. In the Settings list, you see a list of available server settings. Select the settings that you want to save from your server to the backup file.

   5. After you have finished selecting the settings that you want to save to the backup file, click Backup. A dialog box displays the status of the backup process.

4. The Backup Server Settings message box appears, stating whether the backup was successful. If your backup was successful, the backup file is created in the file location that you specified. If the backup was unsuccessful, click View Log to view the log file of the backup to determine where a problem occurred. Click OK to close the message box. By default, the log file is located in the same folder where the Playbooks.exe file is found.

   Note

   It is the responsibility of the user to manually delete XML or .playbook files that you no longer need. The tool does not manage the cleanup of these files.

Restore server settings

After you save your Project Server 2010 server settings, you can now use the Project Server 2010 Server Settings Backup/Restore tool to restore them to a different server farm.

To restore your server settings

1. Run Playbooks.exe to start the Server Settings Backup/Restore tool.

2. On the Select Server URL page, in the Server URL box, type URL of your instance of Project Server 2010. By default, the URL uses the name of the server on which you run the tool, and it targets the default PWA instance.

3. Also on the Select Server URL page, click either Use Windows Authentication or Use Forms Authentication to specify the authentication mode with which you are connecting to Project Server 2010. If you select Use Forms Authentication, type the user name and password in the corresponding boxes. Click OK.

   Note

   If Project Server 2010 is configured for "multi-authentication" (Windows and forms-based authentication on the same URL), then you can only log on by using the Forms Authentication option.

4. On the Playbooks – Project Server Settings Backup/Restore page, click the Restore tab.

   

   1. In the File Name box, click the Open File button to browse to and select your server settings backup file. The Description and Settings boxes will be populated after the backup file is selected.

   2. In the read-only Destination Server box, view the URL of the server which you are currently connected to. To connect to a different server, you may click Change Server URL on the File menu of the dialog box. The read-only Description box contains information about the server-settings backup file, including source server name, version, build, revision, playbook version, date created, and description information.

   3. The Settings list shows all server settings options that were saved to the backup file. (These settings are selected). You can choose to restore all server settings that were backed up, or to restore specific server settings by clearing any checked items.

      Note

      Refer to the Server Settings section for a complete list of Project Server 2010 server settings.

   4. In the Strategy section, you can choose whether to merge or replace the server settings on the new Project Server instance with the backed-up server settings.

      • Merge: This option is typically used when you are moving from one test environment to another to collect the list of settings that you want. An example of a merge going from the backup file to the target server and its result is shown here:

        Backup file	Target Server	Result
        View A	View C	View A
        View B		View B
        		View C

        In this table, the Backup file contains Views A and B from the initial Project Server 2010 instance. Selecting the Merge option results in the new Project Server 2010 instance that contains the views from the Backup file (Views A and B). It also contains the existing views that were on the Project Server 2010 instance to which the backup file was restored (View C).

      • Replace (where it is possible): Use this option when the data in the backup file takes precedence over the data in the target server. This could be used when you are rolling out data from a test environment to a deployment where the items in the backup file represent the final status of the server. The example here shows what happens when you do a replace operation:

        Backup file	Target Server	Result
        View A	View C	View A
        View B		View B

        In this table, all existing views on the target server on which the Backup file is restored (View C) are replaced by the views contained in the backup file (Views A and B).

        Note

        Custom Fields, Lookup Tables, and Security Categories use the merge strategy.

5. After making your selection, click Restore. A dialog box displays the status of the recovery process.

6. The Restore Settings message box appears, stating whether the restoration was successful. If your restoration was successful, click OK to exit the message box. If your restoration was unsuccessful, click View Log to view the log file to determine where a problem occurred.

   Note

   In the restore process, settings with multiple fields (such as custom fields, lookup tables, and so on) validate with the server one-by-one. However, they are updated to the server as a batch at the end of the restoration of that setting. Therefore, if a restore process fails in the middle of the custom fields setting, no custom fields are updated on the destination server.

Server Settings

The following is a list of Project Server 2010 server settings that can be backed up or restored.