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There are multiple options for backing up FF&EZ, from backing up a full PC or server to those built in to the software. They have different levels of ease and security and have different abilities to recover from a major disaster.
The two most important aspects of any backup procedure are:
- Is it kept on a system that is physically different from the FF&EZ system? A copy on the same computer system is worthless if the system itself crashes.
- Is it exposed to any kind of malware attack, especially ransomware? Ransomware encrypts all drives on a system and any folders visible to it on your network and those actively connected to the cloud. The only foolproof ways to protect your backup from malware is to either 1) keep a copy of it on a device that is not normally connected to your system in any way: A drive you only connect while making the backup, or a separate computer connected to a cloud drive where you copy the cloud drive backup to a non-cloud folder on that computer or 2) Use the personal "vault" included with some cloud drives, which requires two-factor authentication to open.
We will mention these two issues for each option.
Keep in mind that "data set" refers to the entire folder tree that contains the FF&EZ "Data" folder, plus all the other subfolders that are part of the system, except the installed software under "Program Files (x86)." You can back up the "Data" folder only, or you can back up the data set. The latter is needed for recovering from a major disaster.
Except for the "disk image" backup, these backups do not include any other folders except those under the main data set folder. So the "FF&EZ-Import" and "FF&EZ-Export" folder trees under your personal "Documents" folder are not included—these are considered to be temporary "staging" folders. If you have used FF&EZ-Export to permanently hold project-related reports, you should back these up as part of your daily system backup. However, if these are located under the OneDrive "Documents" folder, they are part of the continuous OneDrive backup (but are still susceptible to malware).
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Backup Type
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External Windows Backup Utility
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If you have a 3rd party backup utility that creates an "image" backup of your entire computer to a separate disk, this is one of the better options for recovering from a PC that becomes inoperable. Many of these offer an "incremental" setting that creates a full monthly backup and then makes daily backups of files that have changed. Setup for this kind of backup is beyond the scope of this document.
Location: Typically at the same physical location, but on a device that is separate from the computer. Good recovery from a PC crash, but not a physical disaster like a fire.
Malware: Unless the backup device is disconnected after the backup completes, these are susceptible to malware.
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Data set located on a cloud drive (OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.)
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This approach "automatically" backs up the data by placing the "live" data set in the local folder linked to a cloud drive. Changes are then automatically uploaded to the cloud.
OneDrive is set up this way when you use its version of your "Documents" folder, and Dropbox can be set up like this by using the "Install Dropbox on this computer" option in its web interface, then placing the FF&EZ data set within the Dropbox folder. This is a tempting approach and can be viable if used carefully by a single user.
Although it is possible to have two single-user computers with FF&EZ (such as a desktop and a laptop for traveling) that use the data set in a cloud drive at separate times, this approach has some dangerous drawbacks that you must understand:
- Unlike single text or spreadsheet files, FF&EZ opens and changes multiple files (which can get large) on a minute to minute basis, so keeping the data set in a local folder connected to the cloud will generate a lot of "disk churn" as changed files are constantly uploaded.
- Although you can connect to the cloud drive on another computer, you must never run FF&EZ from that computer 1) while the primary computer has FF&EZ open, 2) before the primary system has fully updated the cloud copies and 3) before the second system has internet access and fully syncs to the cloud drive. If you fail to observe these rules, you may generate multiple "conflicted" copies of your database tables!
- In recent installations of both Dropbox and OneDrive, a computer connected to a shared cloud folder may be set by default to only download files when they are needed. Unless you override this, it can cause an enormous slowdown if you switch to a second computer, since FF&EZ opens many files at one time, including each image file referenced by a specification. If the second computer does not have internet access to download files, FF&EZ will not run on it.
For these reasons (especially the issue of potentially unsynchronized file sets), we don't recommend keeping the "live" FF&EZ data set in a cloud-connected folder—especially if more than one person is involved.
Location: Cloud location offers better protection from a disaster, since the backup isn't physically near the primary system and could be opened on another system linked to the cloud.
Malware: These are susceptible to malware, since changes to the files (such as being encrypted by ransomware) are automatically uploaded to the cloud.
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Backup of data set located on a cloud drive
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This is the safest approach to use with a cloud drive and especially for a multi-user system, since the cloud drive only contains the backup, not the live data set. If you take the time to open a protected "vault" on the cloud drive (a set of special folders that are normally write-protected), you can also eliminate the threat of malware.
This approach can use either of FF&EZ's backup options:
- The Back Up Database utility can be run from the main screen's Utility command to create either a data-only, data plus images or full (recovery) backup of the data set. There are some limitations to this, so be sure to read the instructions linked above.
- The Create External Data Set Backup Command utility is run one time and creates a Desktop backup command icon that you then run as needed (at least daily). The backup command creates a full copy of the FF&EZ data set on a target you choose. This would be either a normal cloud folder (easiest) or a cloud "vault" folder (that you must first open for writing). Again, be sure to read the instructions for this.
Location: Cloud location offers better protection from a disaster, since the backup isn't physically near the primary system and can be accessed on another system linked to the cloud.
Malware: These are still susceptible to malware, since changes to the files (such as being encrypted by ransomware) are automatically uploaded to the cloud. However, some cloud drives offer a "vault" that cannot be accessed by malware.
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