Recommended FIM Backup Schedule
Applies To: Forefront Identity Manager 2010
In general, you should perform database backups according to your organization’s backup policy. The following table suggests a schedule for regular backups of your Microsoft® Forefront® Identity Manager (FIM) 2010 components and related items, which you can consider implementing into your existing backup strategy. These suggestions are specific to FIM 2010 components and meant to complement (rather than replace) other regularly scheduled backups in your environment.
| FIM component | Full backup frequency | Incremental backup frequency |
|---|---|---|
FIM Service Database |
Daily |
In accordance with organizational policies. If incremental backup is not planned, the database should be set to simple recovery mode. For more information, see Recovery Model Overview (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=185370). |
FIM Service .NET Application Configuration File |
Every time after installing or changing the configuration file |
Same as full backup frequency |
FIM Service Registry Key Values |
Every time after installing or changing the registry key values |
Same as full backup frequency |
FIM Synchronization Service Database |
Daily |
In accordance with organizational policies |
FIM Synchronization Encryption Keys |
Every time after installing or changing encryption key values |
Same as full backup frequency |
FIM Portal |
Only when you change the web.config file |
Same as full backup frequency |
Important
In a production environment, you should determine when and how often to run backups so that performance is not affected negatively during production hours.
Warning
Restoring the FIM Service to a different point in time from the FIM Synchronization Service is not recommended. If the two service databases are not properly synchronized, unexpected object presence or absence may occur. For example, you may see that previously created objects are absent and previously deleted objects are present.
The following section, Testing FIM Backups, describes how to test FIM backups. The sections after that describe backup and restore procedures for the FIM components.
Warning
You should restore the FIM service and the FIM Synchronization Service using backups for the same time period. If the FIM Service and the Synchronization Service not synchronized, objects that were recently deleted may be recreated or objects that were recently created may be deleted.
See Also
Concepts
FIM 2010 Backup and Restore Guide
FIM Service Backup and Restore
FIM Portal Backup and Restore
FIM Synchronization Service Backup and Restore
Testing FIM Backups
Case Study: How Microsoft Deploys Disaster Recovery for FIM 2010