Sage Backups

[weebly_one]

I have a customer who regularly checks data and backups up each day but is getting frustrated with how long it locks other staff out of the system.

Can anyone recommend a Sage automated backup solution which checks the data and backs up out of hours?

I don't want the client to go back to the old system of not checking data regularly.

 

[KA_Tweet5]

Internetware offer a free online backup service

internetware.co.uk/ products/ cloud-backup-for-sage-50

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Haven't used it personally but this software claims to perform both a data check and backup, which can be scheduled - http://www.steveblencowe.com/sage_backup.htm

The other (free) option would be to write a simple script which copies the ACCDATA directory somewhere overnight and then in the morning they can do a check and backup of this copy, as it won't be the "live" data people can still work on it whilst the check and backup are taking place.

Obviously if any errors in the data are found then they can run a repair on the "live" data at somepoint during the day.

 

[weebly_one]

Thanks Paul.

I had found that software you mention and emailed the person who wrote it but sitlll awaiting a response - I was hoping for a personal recommendation but I suppose no-one her uses it !

KA - I'll take a look

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Thanks Paul.

I had found that software you mention and emailed the person who wrote it but sitlll awaiting a response - I was hoping for a personal recommendation but I suppose no-one her uses it !

Sorry only personal recommendation I can give you is not to use Line 50 in a multi-user setup as it's not designed for it and often ends badly

 

[johndon68]

With regards to the solution that Paul linked to, unfortunately the gentleman who wrote it died a few weeks ago so that is no longer an option.

I'm just waiting to get off a cruise ship having just got back from holiday so ill post more later but one of the big problems with automated backups is that you have no way of knowing if there are any errors on the data so could blindly be backing up corrupt data...

John

 

[johndon68]

The Sage Developer Tools do not give Developers access to the Check Data routine in Sage or the backup routine so the only way to replicate it is to try and do it via keystrokes but this brings up a number of problems.

If Sage is not open then the any routine would need to open the program. It wou,d then, potentially, need to select the correct company and, once that is done, provide the login name and password.

Having done that, it then needs to check if anyone else has been left logged in and , if they have, log them out which of course would be a problem if anyone was logged in legitimately.

Then you have to consider what to do if the the message about recurring entries appears.

Next you need to start the Check Data process but, if there are errors, as no one is around to view the screen, there is now way of knowing.

It is then a case of running the backup routine.

All of the above can be done (I have done it) but there are so many possible points of failure if a dialog box appears (there are far more possibilities) than I have listed.

The biggest problem remains that of not knowing if all you are doing is backing up data with errors, Check Data really needs to be run with someone there to see the results...

John

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Thanks John, knew you would be the man with all the answers.

Really surprised there is no option in Line 50 to save the results of a check data to a log file so someone could check it in the morning, but then it is Sage ;-)

 

[johndon68]

Really surprised there is no option in Line 50 to save the results of a check data to a log file so someone could check it in the morning, but then it is Sage ;-)

It does, certainly on later versions, create a file called ERRORS.RPT in the ACCDATA folder of the data in question which can be opened by Notepad but, with the best will in the world, relying on someone to check that file every morning (subject to the issues I detailed re getting Check Data to run automatically anyway) is asking for trouble albeit I guess any such automatic routine could always open the ERRORS.RPT file for someone to check...

Even allowing for that, I'd suspect that any such routine would want to be run on the server as a Windows Service to ensure that it runs all the time so would require someone checking which applications were open on the server every morning.

I certainly appreciate the point that the client of the OP is making, waiting for a Check Data and backup to be run can be pain but worth it if it avoids having to pay for data to be fixed or data to be reentered following a restore due to corruption.

John

 

[Paul_Rosser]

It does, certainly on later versions, create a file called ERRORS.RPT in the ACCDATA folder of the data in question which can be opened by Notepad but, with the best will in the world, relying on someone to check that file every morning (subject to the issues I detailed re getting Check Data to run automatically anyway) is asking for trouble albeit I guess any such automatic routine could always open the ERRORS.RPT file for someone to check...

Even allowing for that, I'd suspect that any such routine would want to be run on the server as a Windows Service to ensure that it runs all the time so would require someone checking which applications were open on the server every morning.

I certainly appreciate the point that the client of the OP is making, waiting for a Check Data and backup to be run can be pain but worth it if it avoids having to pay for data to be fixed or data to be reentered following a restore due to corruption.

John

Very true it does rely on someone actually checking the log each morning, although it's very easy to setup a job which will email the file in question to someone.

You could also write something which would check the log automatically looking for "no errors found" or whatever the result is when all is fine and then only email if there was an issue, but as you mentioned just automating Sage to perform the data check has a lot of issues.

Checking data and having good backups is essential when using Sage, sadly it's something a lot of people overlook and then end up in trouble when things go wrong.

 

[johndon68]

Checking data and having good backups is essential when using Sage, sadly it's something a lot of people overlook and then end up in trouble when things go wrong.

No doubt about it, you'd be amazed (or perhaps not ) at how many times I see data that has not been checked for over 6 months...

John

 

[Paul_Rosser]

No doubt about it, you'd be amazed (or perhaps not ) at how many times I see data that has not been checked for over 6 months...

John

I used to support users of Sage so I wouldn't

Once had one who hadn't checked their data for nearly a year, server went bang so went to restore from backup only to find their tape drive had died 2 years earlier, someone was putting a tape in each night, next morning it had ejected so they assumed everything was fine...just nothing was being written to tape!!

 

[leemason]

Sadly it's not just Sage! So many people either don't take regular backups or just assume their backups are working and never try to restore them until it's too late.

 

[weebly_one]

People look at me like I am weird if I suggest a test restore from time to time!

So many people do backup the sage but it's on a cheap memory stick which then skulls around in the bottom of their bag - then they wonder why it won't work when it is needed.

It's frustrating now my client is in a good routine with a reliable member of staff that the check and backup takes so long it can no longer be done at 9am in the morning due to locking everyone out.

 

[weebly_one]

Thanks John, knew you would be the man with all the answers.

Really surprised there is no option in Line 50 to save the results of a check data to a log file so someone could check it in the morning, but then it is Sage ;-)

I think the answer is going to be the last one out in the evening does the data check and backup each day - but the lady who has been backing up for me goes to help and about each morning to check the errors/warnings and comments to see if anything has changed since the previous backup to flag up if any errors have occurred. This is now shown in Help/About under configuration information.

Might be the only way we can do it.