ASP SITE with SQL Server--best way to backup?

[SStory]

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this question. I also posted
in SQL Server area... but since it involved ASP.NET on a host site and SQL
Server, thought appropriate to ask both groups for a good solution...
ideas...

I have written a SQL DB, and ASP.NET website for a client. The clients
database and webpage are not inhouse but on a hosting provider.

This provider says they only backup for disastor purposes--which didn't make
me feel to good.

So my question...

How can I help this non-techie client to backup her remote SQL Server
Database regularly?
What is the best means of doing this?

Some software for her--again figure very low tech small business--no IT
department??

Some other service to do it?

Thanks,

Shane

 

[Bob Franklin]

Your hands may or may not be tied by the hosting provider. Find out what all
they will enable you to do. One alternative - if they'll let you do it - is
to create a DTS package that will create the backups for you, and then
schedule the DTS package to get executed at some interval (e.g, nightly or
weekly or whenever). The DTS package can do any number of things. One
possibility is to have it back up important data to an MS Access database
(.mdb file), and then in your ASP.NET application, provide links to the .mdb
file so the user can download it to their local machine. This would give you
the ability to not only back up the data but to get it off site (in case the
hosting provider's server dies) and in the hands of your non technical
client. Having it in an MS Access database is one great way to provide
access to the data to a non technical client - at least it's better than
giving them a SQL Server backup file (they'd need to restore it to an
alternative SQL Server in order to see the data).

If your hands are completely tied by the hosting provider and you can't
create and schedule the DTS package, then you can always fall back on
ADO.NET. Read the important data into a DataSet, and then enable the user to
persist it to their local machine. Remember an ADO.NET DataSet is just an
XML file.

Good Luck

Bob
MCSD, MCDBA, MCSA, MCSE

 

[SStory]

Thanks Bob,

I just got a response from the host.

They said,
"We backup your SQL database on a nightly basis. We can restore any of your
recent 7 days backup for $15 one time fee."

So I guess maybe we should just trust them?

If not, and I get the database important info into an XML file, site doesn't
have https to transfer and also, how hard would it be to restore from XML to
the database if things went bad?

I have very little XML experience.

Thanks,

Shane

 

[Bob Franklin]

<<< So I guess maybe we should just trust them?>>>
That all depends on how important your data is, and if 7 days is adequate.
If the data is really really important, then perhaps it would be worth 15
bucks to put them through a fire drill. Tell them something went wrong with
your application and that incorrect data has been written to the database
for the past 3 days. Have them restore the backup made 4 days ago. See how
long it takes them to get it done (if they can even do it).

<<<how hard would it be to restore from XML to the database if things went
bad?>>>
Not hard at all if you're using ADO.NET to restore to the database from a
persisted ADO.NET DataSet. Of course keep in mind that ADO.NET is designed
to work with data only and not other SQL Server-specific structures -
meaning that you could restore the data easily, but only if the SQL Server
tables, rules, constraints, stored procedures, triggers, etc were already in
place.

<<< I have very little XML experience>>>
You can do fine concentrating your learning efforts on ADO.NET rather than
XML per se. Under the covers, ADO.NET is storing the data as in-memory
XML-formatted text - but you don't really need to concern yourself with
what's going on at that level - at least for the topic we're discussing.
Just learn how to use ADO.NET and you'll be all set. The best book (IMHO) on
ADO.NET is by David Sceppa/Microsoft Press.

FWIW: XML is no big deal - it's just plain old ASCII text. What makes XML
useful is how the text is structured. You could probably have the concepts
and vocabulary of XML figured out in a few hours of reading.

Good Luck

Bob
MCSD, MCDBA, MCSA, MCSE

 

[SStory]

Thanks Bob.

<<< So I guess maybe we should just trust them?>>>
That all depends on how important your data is, and if 7 days is adequate.
If the data is really really important, then perhaps it would be worth 15
bucks to put them through a fire drill. Tell them something went wrong with
your application and that incorrect data has been written to the database
for the past 3 days. Have them restore the backup made 4 days ago. See how
long it takes them to get it done (if they can even do it).

<<<how hard would it be to restore from XML to the database if things went
bad?>>>
Not hard at all if you're using ADO.NET to restore to the database from a
persisted ADO.NET DataSet. Of course keep in mind that ADO.NET is designed
to work with data only and not other SQL Server-specific structures -
meaning that you could restore the data easily, but only if the SQL Server
tables, rules, constraints, stored procedures, triggers, etc were already in
place.

<<< I have very little XML experience>>>
You can do fine concentrating your learning efforts on ADO.NET rather than
XML per se. Under the covers, ADO.NET is storing the data as in-memory
XML-formatted text - but you don't really need to concern yourself with
what's going on at that level - at least for the topic we're discussing.
Just learn how to use ADO.NET and you'll be all set. The best book (IMHO) on
ADO.NET is by David Sceppa/Microsoft Press.

FWIW: XML is no big deal - it's just plain old ASCII text. What makes XML
useful is how the text is structured. You could probably have the concepts
and vocabulary of XML figured out in a few hours of reading.

Good Luck

Bob
MCSD, MCDBA, MCSA, MCSE



XML nightly