Creating database backups
Database backups allow to recover older versions of your content after a data loss event (either lost or damaged). Various techniques can be used to make these backups and depend on the database that is used.
For more information on how to make backups, please refer to the documentation provided with your database.
What to backup
A database backup is sufficient to restore your content to a previous state.
A backup of the full-text index isn't necessary because it can always be regenerated. It is recommended, however, to backup the full-text index when it's becoming large in order to avoid unavailability of the search for a long period of time.
Oracle backups
- The database can be stopped during the night. SDL LiveContent Architect delivers scripts to stop and restart the programs and an Oracle database. When stopped, you can backup the system.
- The database can be stopped once a month. Make a full backup during the shutdown, make sure that archive logging is enabled, backup the archive log files and remove them.
- The system may never be stopped. Use replication or online backup mechanisms and/or full hardware mirroring. If the master system crashed, it is possible to work on the copy.
Protect yourself against a major hardware problem
Backups are used in case of major hardware problem. To reduce the risk, it is recommended to have a hardware protection like disk mirroring or RAID-5 technology. It is recommended to make a full backup as frequently as possible.