Copying db backend

[Leslie Isaacs]

Hello All

Is there any danger of a serious problem being caused by copying a backend
mdb to another location while that file is being accessed by a user via
their frontend? I realise that any record being added/edited/deleted as the
copy is initiated could conceivably (will probbaly?) get corrupted, but can
I assume that any such corruption would only exist in the copied mdb and not
in the live mdb? And/or, could there be any greater harm than what I have
suggested?

The reason I ask (if anyone's interested!) is that I have written a batch
file that copies the BE from the server to another workstation on the
network, and it does this every hour. 4 BE backups are maintained in this
way, called BE1, BE2 etc - they each get renamed 'up the chain' every time a
new copy is made, with BE4 getting deleted. I have a similar batch file that
does the same thing every day, and another that runs every week, and another
that runs every month. The whole process has been working fine for a few
weeks now, and has been found to be worthwhile - its purpose is to create
the ability to have a look at the data that was in the db at various points
in the past: I also feel that it adds further security to our normal daily
tape-backup routine. It has been at the back of my mind, however, that
copying an open BE file just might cause problems one day.

I would be very grateful for any advice.

Many thanks
Les

 

[Allen Browne]

Copying the data from an mdb should not corrupt it.

The problem is that the backup could be corrupt, as you correctly state.
This makes the backup of questionable value, though it would be possible to
programmatically test it for known inconsistencies (e.g. foreign key where
the primary key value does not exist), and walk the recordsets looking for
corruptions.