General guidelines for using gbak

Go Up to Performing backups and restores using the gbak command

When backing up a database, keep the following information in mind:

• Unless the -service option is specified, gbak writes the backup files to the current directory of the machine on which it is running, not on the server where the database resides. If you specify a location for the backup file, it is relative to the machine where gbak is executing. You can write the backup files only to this local machine or to drives that are mapped to it. Note that the -service switch changes this behavior. (See Using gbak with InterBase Service Manager.)
• When you are backing up a multifile database, specify only the first file in the backup command. You must not name the subsequent database files: they will be interpreted as backup file names.
• The default unit for backup files is bytes. You can choose to specify kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes (k, m, or g) instead. Restored database files can be specified only in database pages.
• Use the -transportable switch if you operate in a multiplatform environment. This switch permits the database to be restored to a platform other than the one on which it originally resided. Using this option routinely is a good idea when you are operating in a multiplatform environment.
• Use the -service switch if you are backing up to the same server that holds the original database. This option invokes the InterBase Service Manager on the server host and saves both time and network traffic.

Tip:
It is good security practice to change your backup files to read-only at the system level after creating them. This prevents them from being accidentally overwritten. In addition, you can protect your databases from being “kidnapped” on UNIX and Windows systems by placing the backup files in directories with restricted access.

Advance To:

• Initiating multi- and single-file backups