Issue

How to configure and use Hotcopy Backup program for Navision
Solution

Microsoft Dynamics NAV also has a server based backup program, called HotCopy. This program is installed with C/SIDE Database Server and is stored in the same directory the C/SIDE Database Server is installed to.

HotCopy can only be run from the server location and can only create backups on hard disks. You cannot make incremental or differential backups. The backups are file copies of the database and are not compressed.  You can make a backup of a database while clients are using it. However, if these clients are entering large amounts of data, an error can occur in the database backup.

We therefore recommend that you make your database backups when there are few or no clients are using the system.  Furthermore, if HotCopy is the first 'user' to connect to the server it will place an exclusive lock on the database and no other users will be allowed to login while HotCopy is running.  This is done for performance reasons.

If other users are already logged on the server, HotCopy runs as an ordinary session.  HotCopy will then apply the version principle and copy its own version of the database.  Running HotCopy as a session places a greater burden on the server.

You can only create a backup from the command prompt. You must specify a number of parameters:
hotcopy
source=databasefile1 (databasefile2.databasefile16)
destination="backup directory1" ("backup directory2"."backup directory16")
[description="This is the backup for Monday"]
[email=username@microsoft.com]
[servername=myserver]
[user=myname password=mypassword | osauthentication=yes]
[dbtest=normal]
[cc=yes]
[nettype=tcps|tcp|netb]

The parameters are case sensitive and those that are enclosed in [ ] are optional.  Every entry that contains a space must be placed inside quotation marks.

The following example only uses the mandatory parameters. The database is stored in the same directory as the server based backup program and the backup is stored on another computer:
hotcopy source=database.fdb
destination=\\backupcomputer\backup\Monday

Alternatively, you can refer to a backup description file that contains all the relevant parameters. We recommend that you use the backup description file.
hotcopy source=backupdescription.txt

You can give the backup description file any name that you like.

For additional information please see the Navision Document w1w1bkup.pdf file distributed on the product cd or download.