Back up memoQ TMS

From the Deployment tool, you can make a full backup of memoQ TMS. You can do it manually, or you can schedule the backups, so that memoQ TMS is backed up automatically and regularly.

This topic is about doing a manual backup.

To learn how to schedule regular backups, see the Schedule backup topic.

SQL server on different machine or installed separately? If SQL Server was not installed by the Deployment tool itself, make sure that the user backing up memoQ TMS has the bulkadmin or sysadmin server-level role on the SQL Server. To check and set this up, you need the sqlcmd program. To learn about the actual commands, read the Useful SQL commands topic.

Always take note of the version because you will need it when you restore the package: When you make a backup, always note down the version of the memoQ TMS (for example, 11.1 - you don't need the build number). When you open the Deployment tool, the memoQ TMS section will show the version of the memoQ TMS that is running - and not the version of the Deployment tool. Include the version number (for example, 11.1) in the name of the folder where you store the backup packages.

memoQ TMS has two components for creating backups. To use the default one which always works the same way, you don't need any extra steps. To use the newer one, learn how to turn on and configure the Backup Tool.

How to get here

When you do this, memoQ TMS will already be installed on the server computer.

  1. Log in to the memoQ TMS computer through Remote Desktop.

  2. Open the Start screen or the Start menu: Press the Windows key.

  3. Type memoQ, and wait for the results to appear.

  4. In the list, click memoQ TMS deployment tool.

  5. Windows may ask you to confirm to run the program. Click Yes or Run.

  6. The memoQ TMS deployment tool window opens. You need the topmost section (memoQ TMS):

    memoQ TMS already installed window with advanced options selection

  1. Click Backup. The Backup memoQ TMS window opens:

    deptool-backup-mqs

What can you do?

Choose a folder, and click Backup. The deployment tool will create a single backup file in the folder you chose.

Always full backup: This tool will always back up all data and all settings from memoQ TMS. In fact, it creates a snapshot of the entire memoQ TMS. When you restore a backup, it will practically restore memoQ TMS to the exact same state when the backup was made.

Before you can use the Backup Tool, you need to turn it on:

  1. In your text editor, open the file %PROGRAMDATA%\MemoQ Server Deployment\DeploymentToolConfig.xml

  2. Change the value in the UseBackupTool element to true.

  3. Save and close the file.

To configure how the Backup Tool works, change the settings in these two files:

Key name Value type Description
ArchiveStructureOptions.SingleFileBackup boolean When set to false, the backup will be split into at least as many files as the number of parallel CPU threads assigned to the Backup Tool (see the settings for backupToolSettings.User.json below.
ArchiveStructureOptions.ExcludedExtensions string array Comma-separated list of file extensions telling what file types not to back up.
CompressionOptions.CompressionType string Can be lz4 or deflate. Both are lossless compression methods. When set to lz4, you cannot decompress the backup file with anything else.
CompressionOptions.CompressionLevel integer (1 to 9) Higher values mean smaller backup files but longer compression time.
CompressionOptions.IncompressibleExtensions string array Comma-separated list of file extensions telling what file types not to compress.
SeparateSubfoldersOptions.SeparateSubFolders boolean When set to false, all backup files will be in the same folder.
SeparateSubfoldersOptions.FurtherSeparateSubFolders string array Comma-separated list of folders telling what parts to put into separate subfolders.
ShadowCopyOptions.CreateShadowCopy boolean When false, the Backup Tool doesn't use Volume Shadow Copy.
BackupDatabaseOptions.CreateDatabaseBackup boolean When true, the database is also included in the backup. When false, only program files and data files are backed up.

BackupDatabaseOptions.MaxDatabaseBackupFileSize

 positive integer The database backup is split into files of this many megabytes.
BackupDatabaseOptions.CompressDatabaseBackup boolean When true, the database is compressed in the backup.
Key name Value type Description
BackupDatabaseOptions.MaxDegreeOfParallelism integer The Backup Tool will use this number of parallel CPU threads.

Choose a folder, and click Backup. Based on the configuration you chose, the Backup Tool will create one or more backup files in the folder you chose.

You can configure what to back up: This tool will always back up program files and data files from memoQ TMS. But you can choose if you want to back up memoQ TMS's SQL database, too.

Create a folder that contains the version number of memoQ TMS: You will need the exact same version to restore the backup package. For example, if you make the backup from memoQ TMS 11.1, you will need the deployment tool for memoQ TMS 11.1 to restore that backup. (The build number - the third one - does not have to be the same.) However, the backup package does not indicate the version number. It is useful to create a folder that contains the version number, for example: mQs-11-1-backups.

You may need several gigabytes of free space on the disk where you save the backup. This depends on the amount of data on your memoQ TMS. The Deployment tool will warn you if there is not enough free space.

The Deployment tool will stop the memoQ TMS service for the time of the backup. This usually means a downtime between 1 and 5 minutes.

When the backup is finished, the Backup memoQ TMS window will look like this:

Success window in the deployment tool after backup finished

Error while creating database backup? If you get an error message that the database could not be backed up, you may not have enough permissions to do so. If SQL Server was not installed by the Deployment tool itself (that is, together with memoQ TMS), make sure that the user backing up memoQ TMS has the bulkadmin or sysadmin server-level role on the SQL Server. To check and set this up, you need the sqlcmd program. To learn about the actual commands, read the Useful SQL commands topic.

Cancel the backup process

To stop the backup, click the Cancel button.

When you finish

To return to the Deployment tool, click Finish.

To restore a backup: Make sure you have the backup at hand. Open the Deployment tool. In the memoQ TMS section, click Restore. To learn more, see the Restore from backup topic.