Protecting databases in Project Server 2007
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Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14
Backing up your Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 deployment consists primarily of backing up the Microsoft SQL Server databases associated with Office Project Server 2007 and either Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Office SharePoint Server 2007. This is best done using the backup and recovery tools provided with SQL Server.
SQL Server backup and recovery tools allow for the greatest versatility in recovering your Office Project Server 2007 deployment after a failure.
Using the full recovery model for SQL Server databases allows for recovery to the point of failure in the event of a database loss.
Office Project Server 2007 and related databases can be synchronized by using transaction-log marking. This allows for database consistency during database recovery.
For more information about using SQL Server backup and recovery tools, see Backing Up and Restoring Databases in SQL Server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=129349\&clcid=0x409) in SQL Server Books Online.
Database backups
Office Project Server 2007 data and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 data is stored in Microsoft SQL Server databases. To protect your data against loss, you must create database backups by using the tools provided with SQL Server. Database backups contain a complete record of all the data in your database at the time the backup finishes. Database backups can be used in combination with transaction-log backups to restore your Office Project Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 data to the point of failure or to an earlier point in time.
For more information about creating database backups using SQL Server tools, see Backing Up and Restoring Databases in SQL Server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=129349\&clcid=0x409) in SQL Server Books Online.
Transaction-log backups
The transaction log is a serial record of all modifications that have occurred in a database along with the transaction that performed each modification. The transaction log records the start of each transaction. It records the changes to the data and enough information to undo the modifications (if necessary later) made during each transaction. The log grows continuously as logged operations occur in the database.
Transaction-log backups enable you to recover the database to an earlier point in time (for example, prior to entering unwanted data), or to the point of a failure. In addition to database backups, transaction log backups must be part of your recovery strategy.
Because Office Project Server 2007 deployments maintain data in four or more related databases, you may also need to use marked transactions to ensure synchronization during restore operations.
For more information about creating transaction log backups using SQL Server tools, see Working with Transaction Log Backups (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129350\&clcid=0x409) in SQL Server Books Online.
Transaction-log marking
SQL Server provides functionality known as transaction-log marking. Log marking places a transaction with a name (for example, a time/data stamp) in the transaction logs of multiple related databases simultaneously.
You can use transaction marks to recover your Office Project Server 2007 databases to a logically consistent point. Routinely marking related transactions in every related database establishes a series of common recovery points in the databases. The transaction marks are recorded in the transaction log and included in log backups. In the event of a disaster, you can restore each of the databases to the same transaction mark to recover them to a consistent point.
For more information about transaction log marking, see Using Marked Transactions (Full Recovery Model) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129352\&clcid=0x409) in SQL Server Books Online.
Using SharePoint Products and Technologies tools
The SharePoint Central Administration Web site and the Stsadm command-line tool are capable of backing up a Office Project Server 2007 deployment, but they have the following limitations:
If the farm is in use while the backup is being created, the SharePoint Products and Technologies tools cannot synchronize the Office Project Server 2007 databases during recovery. This can lead to orphaned records and inconsistent data after recovery.
The SharePoint Products and Technologies tools do not make use of SQL Server transaction logs, thus you must restore to the last full backup and will always lose some data during recovery. Recovery to the point of failure is not possible.
If you decide to use the SharePoint Products and Technologies backup and recovery tools, we recommend that you back up your deployment at a time when there are no users on the system. This allows the databases to be synchronized, because there are no transactions taking place during the backup.
To determine if the SharePoint Products and Technologies backup and recovery tools are the best option for your organization, see Plan for disaster recovery in Project Server 2007.
For information about using SharePoint Products and Technologies backup and recovery tools, see the following articles:
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