Back up and restore content databases (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
Applies To: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Topic Last Modified: 2008-07-21
Important
Although the configuration database and the SharePoint Central Administration Web site content database can be backed up, restoring backups of the configuration database and Central Administration content database from a farm by using the tools built in to SharePoint Products and Technologies is not supported.
This is because data in these databases may not be synchronized with data in other Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 databases. Therefore, the tools built in to SharePoint Products and Technologies do not recover these databases during a farm-level recovery.
If this data is not synchronized, users might experience various random errors. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 948725: Restoration of the configuration database is not supported in SharePoint Server 2007 and in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=117755&clcid=0x409).
You can recover a farm, including the configuration database and Central Administration content database, in the following ways:
You can use farm-level backups of a running farm taken with System Center Data Protection Manager to recover an entire farm, including the configuration database and Central Administration content database. For more information, see How to Recover a Windows SharePoint Services Farm (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=102831&clcid=0x409).
You can restore a backup of the configuration database and Central Administration content database from a fully stopped farm. For more information, see Move all databases (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0).
If the configuration of Central Administration content databases becomes unsynchronized, you must re-create both databases by using the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard or Psconfig command-line tool.
To protect the configuration database and Central Administration content database:
Document all configuration settings and all your customizations so that you can correctly re-create the databases. For more information about recovering a farm, see Restore a farm after a configuration database problem (Windows SharePoint Services).
Consider a redundancy solution, such as clustering or mirroring, for the computer running SQL Server that is hosting the configuration database. For more information about using mirroring, see Using Database Mirroring with Office SharePoint Server and Windows SharePoint Services (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83725&clcid=0x409).
The two most commonly used methods for backing up Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 databases are:
The built-in backup tools included with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
The database backup tools included with Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
Built-in tools
The Central Administration Web site offers a simple, UI-based method to manage farm backup and recovery as well as view job history and status. The Stsadm command line tool offers a faster and more flexible command line-based approach to farm backup and recovery. You can use the Stsadm command line tool in conjunction with Windows Scheduler to schedule delayed or periodic backups.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2005 provides high-performance backup and restore capability. Using the tools included with SQL Server 2005, you can prepare Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to recover quickly from several potential data-loss events:
Media failure.
User errors, for example, dropping a table by mistake.
Hardware failures, for example, a damaged disk drive or permanent loss of a server.
Natural disasters.
The benefits of using SQL Server 2005 to back up and restore your Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 databases include:
Existing SQL Server disaster recovery strategies can be re-used.
Full and differential backups can be configured with added verification.
Provides a full-fidelity data backup.
Can be faster than Windows SharePoint Services backups.
Back up and restore your databases
Note
If your IT environment requires that your database administrator (DBA) must back up or restore the databases, you must coordinate your backup and restore operations with your DBA. Whether you use built-in tools or SQL Server 2005, the account used to back up the databases must be a member of the SQL Server db_backupoperator fixed database role. The account used to restore the databases must be a member of the SQL Server dbcreator fixed server role.
To back up your Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 databases, see Back up databases (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0).
To restore your Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 databases, see Restore databases (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0).
To back up or restore your Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 databases using DPM, see Back up and restore databases by using DPM (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
See Also
Concepts
Back up and restore the farm (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
Back up and restore the entire farm (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 technology)
Create a recovery farm (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
Back up and restore Web applications by using built-in tools (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
Back up and restore site collections by using built-in tools (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
Back up and recover site objects (Windows SharePoint Services)
Back up and restore an item by using DPM (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)
Back up and restore a site by using DPM (Windows SharePoint Services 3.0)