How do I Backup Best Practice Software?
This FAQ is intended to answer common questions about how to use the Best Practice Software
backup utility
Important: Best Practice recommend that you perform a backup of your Best Practice
data daily using the supplied ‘BP Backup.exe’ program. This is strongly recommended even if
you use a 3rd party backup utility as it provides the simplest restore of the database should the
need arise.
Best Practice also recommend that a ‘test restore’ of the backup is performed to a separate
server on a regular basis to ensure that your backups are valid and could be restored if
required.
Backups should be stored off site in a secure location.
Best Practice Software backup can be accessed via
Start All Programs Best Practice Software
the server.
Best Practice
BP Backup on
Manual Backup
The Best Practice Software backup utility provides the ability
to backup and restore your Best Practice databases.
Select the 'Backup databases' button and you will be
presented with the 'Browse for Folder' window where you
select the folder you want the Best Practice Software backup
to be placed.
The file name will default to a standard such as
‘BP_20080513105335’ – the numbers relate to the year,
month, date and time.
You can also select to perform either a ‘Compressed’ or
‘Uncompressed’ backup.
Compressed Backup
 creates one zip file containing a file for each Best Practice
database
 requires free space on C:\drive equal to at 3 times the
size of your databases (for temp files)
Uncompressed backup
 creates one file for each Best Practice database
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Once the backup has completed, the ‘Backup completed
successfully’ dialog box will display. It is recommended that
you copy or move the backup files to an external device that
can be stored in an off-site location.
Scheduled Backup
Best Practice Software provides a mechanism to schedule BP backups. This utilises the 'BP
Link.exe' utility which allows the flexibility to back your Best Practice data up while the system
is unattended. This file can be found on the ‘server only’ in the folder C:\Program Files\Best
Practice Software\BPS\BP Link.EXE. Using the automated backup it is possible to schedule a
back up several times a week (even multiple on the same day).
To schedule a back up:
1. Start BP Link on the server if it is not already running. (It
should appear on the system tray)
2. Right click the 'BP link’ icon in the Sys Tray. It will say BP
background processing when you hover the mouse over it.
3. Select “Configure backup”.
4. Enter your username & password.
5. Tick the “Perform scheduled back up” tick box
6. The default background schedule will appear. The default
settings are to run an uncompressed backup every night
of the week saving to the default backup folder.
7. You can choose to alter the default settings or click ‘Add’
to add a new schedule.
Add a new schedule
1. Set the ‘Default Backup folder’ to the location you want to
have backups files created in. We recommend that you
change this from the default setting.
2. Click the “Add” button to set a new schedule.
3. Select the day/s of the week from the drop down list, the
time (15 minutes increments) and the Backup folder.
4. Select whether a Compressed or Uncompress backup is
required
5. Click ‘Save’.
6. If you do not wish to keep old backup files tick the box
‘Delete old backups in the same folder’.
7. Click ‘Save’ to exit.
Alter an existing schedule
1. Double click on the schedule to be changed.
2. Alter any details required
3. Click ‘Save’ to record changes.
The 'BP link.exe' will check for a scheduled job every 5 Minutes. If a job is scheduled within a 5
minute period it will commence immediately.
If Performing an 'Uncompressed backup' and the backup destination is a network resource:
 Network resources must be in the form of a mapped drive (UNC Paths are not supported)
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
The network administrator should ensure that the destination directory has sufficient
permissions set to allow read/write/delete. (username='network service'; permissions
level='full control')
Restore
Ensure that all users are logged out of Best Practice
prior to performing a restore. This process will
replace ALL existing data.
Select the 'Restore databases' button and you will be
presented with the 'Best Practice restore' window.
Browse to the folder where the backup file is stored
that you wish to restore.
Backup of individual Databases
Since the implementation of the “BPSBackup” account in versions of Best Practice greater than
v1.6.1.432, it is possible to back up and restore an individual BP database using ‘sqlcmd’ at the
command prompt screen. Below are examples of the command line format to use:Backup the active ‘BPSPatients’ database:sqlcmd -U BPSBackup -P ******* -S \BPSINSTANCE -Q "BACKUP DATABASE BPSPATIENTS TO
DISK='c:\temp\bpspatients.bak'"
Restore a backed up ‘BPSPatients’ database:sqlcmd -U BPSBackup -P ******* -S \BPSINSTANCE -Q "RESTORE DATABASE BPSPATIENTS
FROM DISK='c:\temp\bpspatients.bak' WITH REPLACE"
Explanation of how to use the above commands:a.
Run backup / restore commands on the Best Practice Server only.
b.
Substitute the asterisks (*) for your BPSViewer password (-P ********)
Tip: Set BPSViewer password via Setup -> Configuration -> Database – ‘Database
Browser’. It may be necessary to reapply your database browser password as the
BPSBackup account is new and may not yet be associated with the correct password.
c.
Substitute the name of the database that you wish to back up one of the documents
database. (-Q "BACKUP DATABASE BPSPATIENTS TO DISK='c:\temp\bpspatients.bak'")
d.
Substitute the name of the folder to backup to and ensure that the folder exists on the
server (c:\temp)
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3rd Party Backups
Important: This method is not supported by Best Practice support team – we strongly
recommend using the Best Practice backup tool ‘BPSBackup.exe’ provided on installation. The
Best Practice support team will be unable to provide comprehensive support to sites who are
trying to recover a backup performed by a 3rd party product.
Backups of your Best Practice database can be performed via 3rd party applications. However,
we strongly recommend that a BP Backup (as described above) is performed on a
regular basis as this provides the easiest restore mechanism.
When using 3rd party backup software that has an SQL agent, the user details required to
access the database are:
User: BPSBackup
Password: set as per below.
To set the password for this user, log into Best Practice as a user with a high level of access and
select Setup > Configuration. Open this screen, select Database. Click the ‘Database
Browser’ button and enter the password. For more information on this process, refer to the
document ‘BP_FAQ-BPviewer.pdf‘.
Note: Do not lose the password that you set for this account as it cannot be reset. It is strongly recommended that you store this in a secure location such as the
Practice safe.
If you are experiencing problems with the backup process, please refer to the document
'BP_FAQ-Are my Best Practice backup’s working.pdf' for help with identifying possible causes.
Tip: There are a wide range of F.A.Q. documents accessible by browsing to the \FAQ
folder on the Best Practice installation DVD.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information consult the Best Practice Help Library or contact us via our
07 4155 8800
07 4153 2093
support@bpsoftware.com.au
Last
Reviewed:
http://forum.bpsoftware.com.au
http://www.bpsoftware.com.au
sales@bpsoftware.com.au
16/01/2012
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