Archive and retrieve content by using Stsadm import and export operations (Search Server 2008)

Applies To: Microsoft Search Server 2008

Topic Last Modified: 2009-02-12

Draft content This article was published for an earlier version of this product and is being published without changes for this release.

Microsoft Search Server 2008 includes the Stsadm.exe tool for command-line administration of servers and sites.

Benefits of this tool:

• Can be used with Windows Task Scheduler to schedule backups.

• Does not rely on the Windows SharePoint Services Timer service.

• Provides restorable backups for Search.

• Provides the ability to back up and restore at the farm level, Web application level, or site collection level. Stsadm full backups can be used to restore an entire farm or to restore the following objects in a farm: Web application, Shared Services Provider (SSP), or content database.

• For backups that initially run 17 hours, the system automatically restarts the backup and allots an appropriate amount of time for the process to perform (longer than 17 hours).

Disadvantages of this tool:

• Cannot back up directly to tape. Backup location must be a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path.

• Does not provide automatic deletion of old backup files. You may want to use the backup file deletion script provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, How to automate the deletion of backups in SharePoint Server 2007 and in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 by using a Visual Basic script.

• As part of a farm backup, can back up the configuration database and the Central Administration content database, but will not restore them.

• Does not back up any custom solution files in the Inetpub hive or in the 12 hive (that is, %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Shared\Web server extensions\12).

• Does not back up alternate access mappings.

• Does not back up Internet Information Services (IIS) settings including host headers, dedicated IP addresses, and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates.

• Site collection backups affect performance, and can cause access errors. They are not designed to be used when the server is under active load. Site collection backups can be slow when working with site collections larger than 12-15 gigabytes (GB). We recommend that you use SQL Server backups if you are working with site collections larger than 15 GB.

In addition to your hardware configuration, the size of the database, site collection, or Web application that you are working with can significantly affect backup and recovery performance.

The Stsadm command-line tool can be used to back up the configuration database and the Central Administration content database, but the configuration database and the Central Administration content database can only be restored to a server of the same name in the same location.

We recommend that you use differential backup tools outside of SharePoint Products and Technologies for your backup and recovery needs, such as Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager, if backing up your system exceeds the maintenance window that you have available or if your system exceeds the following limits:

• Content databases larger than 100 GB.

• Site collections that you want to back up individually that are larger than 12 GB. If you want to back up a site collection individually that is larger than 12 GB, we recommend that you move it to its own database.

Archive site content by using the Stsadm command-line tool

You can use the Stsadm export operation to save a site or subsite. Although using the export operation saves data for you, it is not the same as using the backup operation. You cannot save a workflow, alerts, features, solutions, or Recycle-Bin state by using the export operation. If you want a full-fidelity backup, use the Stsadm backup operation to back up the site collection as described in Back up a farm by using the Stsadm command-line tool (Search Server 2008).

Before you perform this procedure, confirm that:

• You have read the topic Plan for backup and recovery (Office SharePoint Server).

Archive SharePoint sites and content by using the Stsadm export operation

1. On the drive on which SharePoint Products and Technologies is installed, change to the following directory: %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft shared\Web server extensions\12\Bin.

2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   stsadm –o export –url <URL of the site you want to archive> -filename <Archive file name> –includeusersecurity –versions 4

   The includeusersecurity parameter ensures that the archived content or site will have the same permission requirements as the original. Setting the versions value at 4 ensures that all content regardless of version will be included in the archive. For more information, see Export: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server).

   Note

   If there are errors or warnings, or if the export does not complete successfully, see the export log file for the file that you specified in step 2.

Retrieve site content by using the Stsadm command-line tool

You can use the Stsadm import operation to insert an archived site into a different site collection or to move an entire site collection to a different database or Web application. Although using the import operation imports data, it is not the same as using the restore operation. You cannot restore workflow, alerts, features, solutions, or Recycle-Bin state by using the import operation. If you want a full-fidelity recovery, use the restore operation to import the entire the site collection as described in Restore a farm by using the Stsadm command-line tool (Search Server 2008).

Before you perform this procedure, confirm that:

• You have read the topic Plan for backup and recovery (Office SharePoint Server).

Import SharePoint sites and objects by using the Stsadm import operation

1. On the drive on which SharePoint Products and Technologies is installed, change to the following directory: %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft shared\Web server extensions\12\Bin.

2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   stsadm –o import –url <URL of the site you want to import to> -filename <file name of the archive file> –includeusersecurity

   The includeusersecurity option ensures that the imported content or site will have the same permission requirements as the original. For more information, see Import: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server).

   Note

   If there are errors or warnings, or if your import does not complete successfully, the system generates an error message that includes the path of the log file.

Update UseShared property

1. On the imported site, click Site Actions, and then click Site Settings.

2. On the Site Settings page, under Look and Feel, click Top link bar.

3. To inherit the links from the parent site, click Use Links from Parent on the Top Link Bar page.
   -OR-
   To retain the original breadcrumb path, click Stop Inheriting Links on the Top Link Bar page.

4. Click OK.

See Also

Concepts

Use alternative methods to back up and restore content (Search Server 2008)
Capture and restore content by using the Web site delete event (Search Server 2008)
Capture and restore content by using SharePoint Designer (Search Server 2008)
Archive site versions by using database snapshots (Search Server 2008)