How to Back Up the EDGEBIC Database

To back up the EDGEBIC database by User Solutions you click Export on the DataSource tab for a timestamped SQLite copy, or you put the shared database into your IT team's SQL Server backup plan. The Export button is a single click, safe to use while the application is open, and it is the thing to do before every destructive change.

This is the housekeeping task every administrator needs. For installing and connecting EDGEBIC in the first place, see how to install and connect EDGEBIC, and for the reasoning behind protecting your data, how EDGEBIC protects your schedule data.

Before You Start

• You know which provider you are on. The default is a single SQLite file; a shared team setup is SQL Server. The backup method differs.
• You are signed in with the permission to reach the DataSource tab, which lives inside the permission-controlled Settings.
• You have somewhere to keep the backup: a folder that is itself backed up, or a network location, not the same disk you are protecting against losing.

Backing Up on SQLite (the default)

1. Open the Settings tab and click the DataSource tab. The card at the top shows the active connection.
2. Click Export. EDGEBIC writes a timestamped backup file (with a name that starts with a backup prefix followed by the date and time) next to the live database.
3. That is it. The Export is safe to run even while EDGEBIC is open, because it produces a consistent copy.

The live file itself sits in your EDGEBIC data folder, and the exact path is shown on the DataSource tab. Because SQLite is one file, you can also archive a whole system by closing EDGEBIC and copying that file by hand, but the Export button is the safer default since it does not require closing the application.

Backing Up on SQL Server

1. On SQL Server, the database lives on your IT-managed server and is shared by every EDGEBIC install.
2. Put it into your standard SQL Server backup rotation, the same plan that protects your other business databases.
3. The Export button on the DataSource tab can also produce a portable export where the SQL Server tooling is installed, which is useful for an ad-hoc snapshot, but the scheduled server backup is the real safety net.

What Changes When You Save

Nothing about your live data changes when you back up; you simply gain a restore point.

To restore a SQLite backup, close EDGEBIC first so the file is not in use, copy the backup file over the live database file (its path is shown on the DataSource tab), and reopen. If the backup is from an older version, EDGEBIC brings the schema up to date automatically on first launch. A backup from a newer version than your current binaries may fail to load, so keep your application and backups roughly in step.

How Often to Back Up

Two rhythms cover almost every plant. The first is event-driven: take an Export immediately before any one-way action, which means before a Clear Data run, before a mass BOR re-import that wipes and recreates routings, and before a provider switch. Each of those can leave your data materially different in a way that is tedious or impossible to reverse by hand, and the Export is the one-click insurance.

The second is scheduled: on SQLite, a nightly copy of the .db file (or a nightly Export) run while EDGEBIC is closed gives you a rolling history to fall back on. On a Windows machine this is a small task in Task Scheduler that copies the database file (the exact path is shown on the DataSource tab) to a backup folder and prunes old copies, arranged to run at a time when the application is not open. On SQL Server, the EDGEBIC database simply rides your existing database backup rotation, which is already scheduled and monitored by IT. The point is that backups happen on a schedule, not on memory: the one time you forget is the time you need it.

Export Versus a Full Data Migration

An Export is a backup, not a migration tool. It captures the database as it stands so you can restore the same system to the same moment. It does not move your data from one provider to another. Switching from SQLite to SQL Server, for example, starts the new database empty; the Export protects the old one but does not populate the new one. When you genuinely need to move a system between providers, the path is to back up the source, stand up the target, and rebuild data with the import masks or a planned data migration. Keeping that distinction clear avoids the nasty surprise of assuming a backup carried your data across a provider change.

How to Check It Worked

After an Export, look in the folder next to the live database for a new backup file with the current date and time, and confirm its size is plausible (not zero bytes). For a real restore drill, on a spare machine or a copy of the folder, replace the database file with the backup and open EDGEBIC: it should start on the backed-up data, with your jobs, routings, and master data present. A backup you have never restored is only a hope; testing the restore once turns it into a plan.

Common Mistakes

Copying the live database file while EDGEBIC is running. A hand copy taken mid-write can capture an in-progress transaction and corrupt the backup. Use the Export button, which is safe while open, or close EDGEBIC before copying by hand.

Backing up to the same disk you are protecting. A backup next to the live file protects against a bad import, not a dead drive. Keep at least one copy somewhere else.

Skipping the backup before a destructive action. Clear Data, a mass BOR re-import, and a provider switch are all one-way. Take an Export first, every time; it costs one click. Related failure modes are collected in deployment and database mistakes.

Assuming a provider switch moves your data. Switching from SQLite to SQL Server does not copy anything; the new database starts empty. Export the current one first and plan the data move separately, as covered in moving from single-user to shared server.

Next Steps

The backup is the safety net for the next task: how to clear test data before going live, which you should never run without one. For the full task library, see the EDGEBIC how-to hub, and for the wider platform, EDGEBIC.