Modifying the Backup Operation

You can use a number of command tails with the DP4 backup utilities to modify their operation. The command tails are described below and applied in this way:

1. On the DP4 System menu, select the Run program option

2. Type the command line: DBBACKUP|DYNABACK -<command_tail>
   and press <Enter> to execute it

Turning Verification On and Off

To turn verification on or off and suppress the verification question, run the backup utilities as follows:

DBBACKUP|DYNABACK -VERIFY|NOVERIFY

Leaving Space on the Disks

To set the amount of space in Kilobytes to leave free on each backup disk, run the backup utilities like this:

DBBACKUP|DYNABACK -SPACE <amount>

Formatting the Disk Before Backing Up

To format the diskette as the first operation of the backup, run the backup utilities with the -FORMAT command tail:

DBBACKUP|DYNABACK -FORMAT

You must supply a batch file that contains the appropriate operating system instructions to format the diskette. It must be located in the current directory or one that can be found in the path and named as follows:

• FORMBKP.BAT for DOS, Windows and FlexOS
• FORMBKP.CMD for OS/2
• formbkp for UNIX

Specifying the Backup Location

To override the system configuration and specify the location to be used for the backup, run the standard backup utility like this:

DBBACKUP|DYNABACK -DISK <directory_path>

Examples of <directory_path> are A: and C:\BACKUP\. DYNABACK did not support the -DISK command tail until release 4.522/4.618.

Backing up Quickly

To perform a quick backup, run the dynamic backup utility like this:

This option does slightly less security in the event of a system crash: in this mode DYNABACK works slightly differently, and starts a new log file before the old one has been backed up (the old log file is renamed). If the system crashes before the backup is complete then the restore process will not complete properly unless you manually rename the backed up log file.

Suppressing Questions

To suppress all the questions that DP4 asks during a backup, run the DBBACKUP or DYNABACK utilities with these command tails:

DBBACKUP|DYNABACK -QUIET [-COMMENT "<text>"]

where -COMMENT adds an optional comment, up to 32 characters, displayed when restoring the database. When DYNABACK is used the backup can occupy only one disk in this case.

Backing up Specified Servers

To specify the server to back up from, run the dynamic backup utility as follows:

DYNABACK -SERVER <n>.