Backup, restore and repair projects

NVivo Collaboration Server

This topic explains how to create a backup schedule in NVivo Collaboration Server Manager. Once created, the backup schedule runs automatically and backs up all the projects on the server.  It also explains how to monitor backups, restore a project from a backup and how to repair server projects.

In this topic

• Schedule regular backups via NVivo Collaboration Server Manager

• Monitor project backups

• Restore a project from backup

• Back up projects via SQL Server Management Studio

• Repair a project

Schedule regular backups via NVivo Collaboration Server Manager

You can view the backup schedule on the Backups tab in NVivo Collaboration Server Manager—if there is no schedule, you can create one.

IMPORTANT If you do not expire backups, you should monitor disk space utilization in your backup location.

To create the backup schedule via NVivo Collaboration Server Manager:

1. Open the NVivo Collaboration Server Manager.

2. Click the Backups tab.

3. Click Schedule or restore..

4. Accept the default backup schedule or adjust the backup time, frequency, retention or email settings. If you opt to send an email when a backup fails you must also enter the following:

• SMTP Address—this is the address of your mail server (this mail server must allow relay from the NVivo Collaboration Server without authentication). You can enter an IP address or a fully qualified domain name.

• From email —this email address defines the sender of the email.

• To email—this can be one or more email addresses for recipients (separated by a semi-colon).

8. Click Save backup schedule.

NOTE

• You can modify the backup schedule after you have created it. For example, you might want to change the frequency from weekly to daily or change the location of the backup files. To change the existing backup schedule, click the calendar icon to show the schedule and then change the required options.

• You can delete the backup schedule—for example, if you decide to back up projects via SQL Server Management Studio, you may want to delete the backup schedule you created in NVivo Collaboration Server Manager.

Monitor project backups

If you have created a backup schedule in NVivo Collaboration Server Manager, you can check that scheduled backups are completing successfully:

1. Open the NVivo Collaboration Server Manager.

2. Click the Backups tab.

Scheduled backups are listed in chronological order. You can see when a scheduled backup started and whether it completed successfully

If a backup failed, you can click the Details button to find out more information.

NOTE  

• You can set up email notifications to alert you if a backup fails, refer to Schedule regular backups via NVivo Collaboration Server Manager for more information.

Restore a project from backup

If you have set up a regular backup schedule via NVivo Collaboration Server Manager, you can also restore a project via the NVivo Collaboration Server Manager. When you restore a project, you can choose to restore to the existing project or restore to a new project.

TIP  If a user has accidentally deleted content from their project and wants to see if a backup has the missing content, it is a good idea to restore a backup copy to a new project. If the new project has the missing content, the user can import the missing content via the NVivo client. This approach ensures that the user does not lose any work they have done in the existing project since the backup was made.

To restore a project:

1. Open the NVivo Collaboration Server Manager.

2. Click the Backups tab.

3. Select a project to restore and a backup to restore from.

4. Choose where you want to restore to. You can:

• Create a new project—enter a name for the new project.

• Overwrite existing project—any changes to the project since the backup was taken will be lost.

5. Click Restore.

NOTE  If you are managing backups via SQL Server Management Studio, you will also need to restore the database via SQL Server Management Studio.

Back up projects via SQL Server Management Studio

NVivo Collaboration Server Manager allows you to create a simple backup schedule, but if you want to back up an individual project or create special schedules for particular projects, you will need to do this via SQL Server Management Studio. For more information, refer to the following MSDN articles:

• Create a Full Database Backup (SQL Server).

• Use the Maintenance Plan Wizard

Each NVivo Collaboration Server project is stored as a separate database in NVivo Collaboration Server's SQL database instance. This means that these project databases can be backed up and restored on the same server device or a different one.

Alternatively, a project database can also be detached and re-attached into the same machine or a different one. Refer to the following MSDN articles:

• Detach a Database

• Attach a Database

Repair a project

You can use the Repair facility to compact or repair a project. You might do this when projects become fragmented and are using server space inefficiently or if there are performance issues when working on a project. When you repair a project, the project format (for example, 11.1 or 10.0) is not changed.

It is a good idea to warn users before you repair a project as they will be automatically disconnected.

To repair a project:

1. Open the NVivo Collaboration Server Manager.

2. Click the Projects tab.

3. In the Projects list, select the project you want to repair.

4. Click Repair.