Backing Up Your Data

You may have months or even years of work contained within a database and it is vital that you protect this data sensibly.

For information on the backup of Workgroup databases, see the Workgroup Data Administration Guide, which you can download here.

You must back up your database. The InfoAsset Manager database consists of a simple index file and a subdirectory containing all your data.

YourDatabase.icmm is a basic index file that tells InfoAsset Manager where the database data is stored. The contents of the index file will look like shown below:

 

There is a subdirectory of the directory where the ICMM file is located that contains all your data. The subdirectory name is the automatically generated name highlighted above (string displayed in the GUID A Globally Unique IDentifier, or GUID, is an automatically generated identifier that is guaranteed to be unique across all systems. It is generated using a complex algorithm based on the date and time and the individual computer's network card ID. GUIDs take the form {629810C2-3F6B-11D3-9BF3-00600891B690} and you will see them in a number of places where uniqueness is essential. row). This name should be unique for all databases. This directory name can be seen on the InfoAsset Manager About Box.

Note

This subdirectory is where all your valuable data is located.

A good strategy is to keep each database in a different directory. Then simply back up the contents of that directory and all subdirectories.

When you are developing a strategy for backing up your databases it is worth doing a quick estimate of how much it will cost you if you do lose data.

For example, if one user is using a database that is backed up daily, it should cost you a maximum of one day to replace the lost information, plus the time lost restoring a previous backup of the database.

SQL Server and Oracle users should speak to their database administrator to ensure that the database is backed up regularly.

You should not need to back up your Local Folders. The only things you would lose if the directory is destroyed are changes to networks you are currently editing that have not been committed to the database.

The best option for protecting changes to the network is to copy changes to the database regularly. This has two advantages:

  • Your changes are available to other users
  • You have more options for going back and branching in another direction if the changes you have made prove to be the wrong ones

Do not copy databases using Windows Explorer, or the facilities provided by the database server, and then use both the original and copied database. The two databases will have the same Unique Database Identifier and data in the database and local working folder could become corrupted.

When you upgrade to a new version of InfoAsset Manager, the database version may have changed to support new data types or new fields. InfoAsset Manager will, therefore, display a message when the new version is first run, which informs you that the database version has changed and the implications of updating the database to the latest version.

Warning

You should always back up all of your databases before upgrading to a new version of InfoAsset Manager.
Make sure you commit all changes to version controlled items to the database before upgrading. If the database version changes, the files that store local copies of the data you are editing may be incompatible with the new version of the database.

Data Management