Microsoft Sharepoint Products and Technologies Resource Kit eBook

752 Part IX: Maintaining a Server in Windows SharePoint Services
Backup and Restore Utilities
Windows SharePoint Services is shipped with its own backup and restore tool,
Stsadm.exe. Stsadm.exe is also widely used in SharePoint Portal Server deployments.
The SharePoint Migration Tool is another tool that ships with Windows SharePoint
Services; it is used to migrate sites. In addition to these Windows SharePoint Services
tools, SharePoint Portal Server is shipped with another tool: the SharePoint Portal
Server Data Backup and Restore utility. Finally, the Resource Kit CD will also contain
a backup tool named SPBackup.exe, which can be used to back up site collections
that have recently been changed. The rest of the section provides you with a
detailed overview of the use and purpose of these tools.
General Overview
Table 28-1 provides a general overview of the available backup and restore utilities.
Table 28-1 Overview of Backup and Restore Utilities
Tool Purpose
Stsadm.exe Makes a full-fidelity backup of site collections.
SharePoint Migration tool
(Smigrate.exe)
SharePoint Portal Server
Data Backup and Restore
utility (Spsbackup.exe)
The Stsadm.exe Utility
Windows SharePoint Services includes Stsadm.exe for command-line administration
of Windows SharePoint Services servers and sites. Within SharePoint Portal Server,
Stsadm.exe can be used to make a full-fidelity, complete backup of site collections.
Please remember that Stsadm.exe cannot be used to back up or restore the portal
site. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is not required when you want to use the Stsadm.exe
tool. You must be a member of the Administrators group on the server computer to
be able to use the Stsadm.exe tool. The Stsadm.exe tool provides a method for performing
the Windows SharePoint Services administration tasks to run once, to be
used in batch files, or to be used within a script. The command-line tool has a more
streamlined interface than the site administration pages, yet it allows you to perform
many of the same tasks. Stsadm.exe can be used to back up the following:
■ Site collections
■ Subsites
Backs up and restores sites and subsites. Does not make a
full-fidelity backup; you might lose some customizations
or settings during the process.
Backs up and restores all databases, except the configuration
database. Restores content indexes and content
sources.
SPBackup.exe Determines which site collections have changed and generates
a batch file that backs up changed site collections
using the Stsadm.exe tool.