About backing up your data

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

Master database

You must back up your master database - that is the database file and the GUIDA 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. directory containing supporting files (for example, simulation results and ground model files).

When you are developing a strategy for backing up your master 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 master 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 master database.

If you have a workgroup of ten people you are immediately looking at a maximum of two weeks work lost if you carry out daily backups.

If you have a workgroup of any size you should consider other methods of protecting your data, such as redundant data storage, to reduce the likelihood of data being lost and to reduce downtime when carrying out routine maintenance and repairs to hardware. Speak to your own IT department for advice about minimising risk if you are using large, multi-user master databases.

Working folder

You should not need to back up your working folder. The only things you would lose if the directory is destroyed are changes to networks you are currently editing that have not been saved to the master database, and local results files.

Your local results can be regenerated by running the simulations again, but remember that rerunning simulations takes time. It might be worth copying the results to the server if you want to keep them. This has the added benefit of making them available to other users.

The best option for protecting changes to the network is to copy changes to the master 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.

Copying databases

Do not copy master databases using Windows Explorer/File Manager, 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 master database and working folder could become corrupted.

Upgrading InfoWorks WS Pro

When you upgrade to a new version of InfoWorks WS Pro, the database format may have changed to support new data types or new fields. InfoWorks WS Pro will attempt to update your master database when the new version is first run.

When you upgrade to a new version of InfoWorks WS Pro, the database version may have changed to support new data types or new fields. InfoWorks WS Pro 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 master database to the latest version.