Warning
If backing up to a drive or server, it must be different to the drive / server that holds your Micronet system. If you backup to the same drive / server and it fails, you will lose both your Micronet data and your backups.
Your company's Micronet system holds valuable information that is critical to the day-to-day running of your business. Can you imagine if one day you had a critical incident and the data files were damaged so badly that you could not access your Micronet data again? That is why a backup procedure is so important. When your entire business is running on your computer system, it is essential to keep a copy of your data on some form of removable media – such as an external hard drive, USB stick or CD – that is separate from your main computer system and can be stored away from it.
Backups provide a working copy of your data that can be reloaded onto your Micronet server if the original data files become damaged or corrupted. Data corruption can occur in numerous ways including viruses (such as ransomware viruses), power failures, power spikes (these are sometimes not even noticeable), server crashes, external damage such as fire or theft, or simply user error.
If a problem occurs in your Micronet system, it may not be detected for several days or weeks so it is essential that regular backups are kept so you can go back and find the source of the problem and recover your data if required.
If you consider that your Micronet data is too important to lose and would be costly to replace, then you must backup regularly. Micronet recommends that backups are done at the end of every day using a set of backup media in rotation. This ensures that you have ample backups to restore from if the need arises, minimising any potential loss of data.
We suggest that you keep a set of seven backup media labelled Monday to Sunday. A minimum of one week in rotation is suggested; two weeks in rotation would provide further protection of your data.
Each time a backup is completed, you should register the date, time, medium used and the operator doing the backup.
All backup media should be kept off-site except for the current backup. That way, if your business premises are damaged by fire, flood or some other disaster, you will only ever lose one day's data.
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Warning If backing up to a drive or server, it must be different to the drive / server that holds your Micronet system. If you backup to the same drive / server and it fails, you will lose both your Micronet data and your backups. |
If you are doing your own backups in house, Micronet recommends that:
If you have an external backup service provider, there are additional considerations. We strongly recommend that you ask your provider not to configure the backup software to run on an hourly basis. The reason for this is that your users can be writing to Micronet files at the same time that the backup software is trying to back them up. If this occurs, either:
Rather, as recommended above, ask your provider to backup your Micronet system once a day, overnight when all users are out of the system.
Ideally, you should backup the whole of your Micronet drive (usually the M: drive). At a minimum, you should backup the Micronet folder and all subfolders and files, i.e. the:
If you have more than one company in Micronet, there are other areas which need to be backed up. Select MAINTENANCE | SHOW USER/COMPANY to view the locations of programs and data – see "Maintenance - Show User/Company" in the Distribution System manual.
If you are using an off-site backup solution, the amount of data you can backup may be limited by the speed of your internet connection and download / upload restrictions. If this applies to your company, please call the Micronet Service Desk to find out the minimum requirements for disaster recovery.
Micronet automatically copies your End of Month (EOM) and End of Year (EOY) data when you process an EOM or EOY in the system. This makes a copy of your Micronet data prior to the erasing of transactions that occurs at EOM and EOY. You could backup this data and keep it off-site but it is not essential to do this.
Just because you have run a backup doesn't mean that it worked. There are many stories of users finding out that their backup procedure has been failing only when they suddenly need to restore.
You should test your backups regularly to ensure that the data has been successfully backed up and that it can be readily accessed and restored when required. This should be a mandatory exercise after any upgrades or changes are made to your system, such as application, hardware or system upgrades.
You should also carry out a test restore at least once a month by restoring a backup to a folder other than your Micronet folder and comparing the number of files and file sizes against your Micronet system. Small variations are acceptable but you should investigate any large discrepancies.
Micronet can perform this service for you if required. Please contact our Service Desk for information.
Backup media should always be stored in a safe and secure place, out of the sun and away from magnetic fields. A fire safe is ideal. As stated above, you should consider storing backups off site, as a fire or natural disaster may mean you cannot access your Micronet server for some time. A backup is useless if you cannot access it when needed, or if it is destroyed or stolen with the computer. Applications and hardware are easily replaced; your company data is not unless you have backups.
If you have a problem with your Micronet system and you need to restore from a backup, please contact the Micronet Service Desk before you start the restore. Our Service Desk operators have a great deal of experience in this area and can help to make sure that you don't make mistakes that will end up costing your business even more time and money.