Before we cover how to backup a Sharepoint site, you need to understand why backups are important. Basically, a backup is a copy of data which is used to recover and restore the same data after system failure. While backups can easily allow you to restore data after failure, they can also help you keep up with routine tasks.
These routine tasks include copying a database from one basic server to another, archiving to comply with certain regulatory requirements, setting up database mirroring and more. When you create proper backups, you can easily recover from many different system failures, including the following :
● Media failure
● Natural disasters
● Hardware failures (like a permanent loss of servers, damaged hard disks etc.)
● User errors (like deleting files by mistake etc.)
How to Backup a Sharepoint Site
Backing up a Sharepoint website creates an appropriate content migration package or .cmp file. When you backup a Sharepoint website, you can either backup just the top level website or the top level website with subsites. The backup file which you create includes library or list content, user information, security settings, customizations, navigation and personalizations like site templates, content types and views.
It is worth mentioning that the backup file does not include any alerts, workflows or properties of any kind stored at the website collection level. In order to backup a Sharepoint website, you need to have administrator permission for the particular website. However, you don’t need administrative access to a server which is running on Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0. The instructions about how to backup a Sharepoint site have been mentioned below.
On the File menu, you need to click Open Site. You will see a dialog box. Click browse to, and choose the website which you want to backup. Once you’ve chosen the website, click Open. On the Site menu, you need to choose Administration, and click Backup Web Site. You will see a Backup Web Site dialog box. If you want to backup all the subsites of this particular website, you need to choose Include Subsites in the archive check box.
In case your current website does not have sufficient storage space, you will have to click Advanced, and choose a new location. In the end, you need to click Ok. In order to backup a Sharepoint website, you need a location to store the temporary backup files. If you’re using Sharepoint Designer 2007 to backup the site, your current web site will be the storage location by default.
It is important to understand that you can use another website on the same server or different server on the same network. For instance, \\Server’s Name\ Share Name. When you see the Backup Website Dialog Box, you just have to click Ok. Now, you will see a File Save Dialog Box. You need to choose a location where you want to save the .cmp file. Simply type the name of the backup file, and click Save.
In case the website which you’re backing up is large, the entire process can take some time. However, once you follow the steps about how to backup a Sharepoint site, you won’t experience any problems.
