Many of our customers have questions about how to automate their backups for ASI SmartBooks. There are a lot of ways to get that job done. We are just going to mention a couple from a high level view to make you aware of some of the possibilities. Your local technician will be able to help you with backing up your data.

The first way we will mention requires the use of the paid version of SQL Server 2008 R2. Please note that ASI SmartBooks ships with SQL Server 2008 R2 Express which is the free version of SQL Server 2008 R2. It does not have all the features that are available in the full version. One of the features it does not include is the ability to run what are called “agent jobs”. Agent jobs can be set up to automatically backup databases or perform other tasks on a scheduled basis. If you are using a full version of SQL this is a very good option because the agent also has the ability to report on success or failure of the job.

Secondly you can use backup software that is “SQL Aware” meaning it understands how to backup SQL databases. We do not offer any suggestions as to which ones work because we do not test any of them.

The last one we will mention will work using the Express version of SQL that ASI SmartBooks ships with. In this method you write a SQL script that backs up the databases to a location that is backed up by other means or at least to a different drive than the data currently resides. Next setup a scheduled task using “Windows Task Scheduler” to run the script using “sqlcmd” on the schedule of your choice.

With so many possible backup methods, we do not support or assist in setting up backups . If you are interested in setting up a backup plan please contact your local technician for assistance.