Need to know how to backup a P6 SQL Database? Here at Ten Six, we get this question occasionally from Primavera P6 users, particularly if they are new to P6 or unfamiliar with databases in general and are using a stand-alone SQL database. A lot of P6 users backup by saving each individual project file into .xer or .xml file format, which is still a good practice to do. It’s also useful for keeping copies of your project as you apply progress updates or make changes.
But, backing up your whole database is another level of protection. This can be very useful if you have many projects, as restoring those one at a time from .xer or .xml files after some catastrophic failure, could be time consuming.
This article gives you step-by-step instructions on how to backup a P6 SQL database. Add this approach to your regular backup regimen to ensure you never lose your project data.
1. You start by first downloading Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
2. Then you need to Install Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
3. Click on the Windows icon and expand Microsoft SQL Server Tools 19
4. Launch Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
5. Login to your Microsoft SQL Server instance for Primavera. (Hint: You may use either Windows Authentication or try the SQL Server Authentication if you know the password for sa.)
6. Expand your Server Instance, then Databases. Right click on the database you’d like to backup. Select Tasks then Backup.
7. Click Remove then Add. Click on the ellipse (…) in the next window.
8. In the next window choose a backup location on your machine then type in a file name. Be sure to include the extension .bak so you’ll know it’s a backup of your P6 database.
9. Once the location and name has been entered, click OK one final time to make a backup of your database.
10. You should receive the following message.
11. You can verify that the backup file was created by using windows explorer.
Summary
So, there you have it…this is how you can easily backup a P6 SQL database. I hope you find this useful and if you are saving each individual project file into .xer or .xml file format, just add this on a regular basis to sure up your backup regimen.