This utility is designed for backup and restore of the Engagement Office Server databases for a single main or secondary office server. This utility will need to be run separately on each Office Server to which data needs to be restored.

Important: 

• To be able to restore a single binder to a Central File Room you must use the CCH ProSystem fx Engagement Database Backup & Restore Utility to backup the CCH ProSystem fx Engagement databases. Your third-party SQL backup software is unable to restore the databases for a single binder.
• It is important that you understand that this database backup process does not back up workpaper folders.  Workpaper folders for each Central File Room on this Office Server must be backed up independently of the Engagement database backup.
• All references to Transaction Log Backups are only valid for Version 2020.1.1 and higher.

Additional files to be backed up:

To ensure that you have a complete backup, the files in the following folders will need to be backed up separately using your current backup methods.

The files stored in these folders are not included in the backup that is generated by the ProSystem fx Engagement Database Backup & Restore Utility.

The CFR Workpapers folder (default path Pfx Engagement\Admin\Workpapers\ - check CFR properties via the admin module to be sure.) Backing up data contained in the following paths may also be critical, if present:

• Pfx Engagement\Admin\Admin Packages
• Pfx Engagement\Admin\Archive
• Pfx Engagement\Admin\Transition Binder Packages

Notes:

• It is imperative that the backup/restore for both workpapers and the Engagement SQL instance are completed without intervening changes being caused by synchronization. During both a backup and a restore process, the access to the databases will be restricted to the backup or restore process.  If synchronizations are initiated during this time, the synchronizations will fail.
• At the end of the process, only one .bak file will be created. This single file will contain the backups for all the Engagement Office Server databases local to the server on which the backup job is run. The default names for the backup file are:
  • Full Backup: Office Server Name_Full MMDDYYYY HH MM SS.bak
  • DIifferential Backup: Office Server Name _Differential MMDDYYYY HH MM SS.bak

The following steps assume that you have agreed to the warning in the User Interface section of the Utility:  WARNING:  You are about to back up or restore the SQL 2012/2008/EXPRESS databases on this Office Server, including the CentralAdmin database and all bin databases including applicable binder database information.

  
To create a scheduled backup using Task Scheduler for Server 2019, Server 2016, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10:

1. Click Start Menu.
2. Type and search for "Task Scheduler."
3. Click to open Task Scheduler.
4. Select Create Task.
5. Create a task named BackupRestoreUtil on the General tab of the Create Task Wizard screen.
   1. Verify that the task is set to run as an Administrator of the server.
   2. Choose Run whether user is logged on or not.
   3. Choose Run with highest privileges.
6. Go to the Triggers tab and click New.
7. On the New Trigger screen, set the desired schedule for the backup task to run and click OK.
8. Select the Actions tab and click New.
9. On the New Action screen, verify the Action is set to Start a program.
   1. Click Browse and navigate to "?:\Pfx Engagement\ADMIN\Utilities\Backup Restore\BckupRestoreUtil.exe" (where "?" represents the drive where the program is installed).
      • Note: If the save location for the backup files is to be on a different machine, the path to the share must be a \\UNC path.
      • The SQL Server (PROFXENGAGEMENT) Service must be set to run as an account with full control rights to the shared location. 
   2. In the Add arguments (optional) field:
      • For Full Backup with DB health check: Add the /f switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /f "C:\Backups")
      • For Full Backup with no DB health check: Add the /f /b switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /f /b "C:\Backups")
        • Note: The command line parameter /f and /b must be entered in lowercase. Using an uppercase letter will result in an incomplete backup.
      • For Differential Backup with DB health check: Add the /d switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /d "C:\Backups")
      • For Differential Backup with no DB health check: Add the /d /b switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /d /b "C:\Backups")
        • Note: The command line parameter /d and /b must be entered in lowercase. Using an uppercase letter will result in an incomplete backup. 
        • For more information regarding Differential backups, see what is a CCH ProSystem fx Engagement Differential Backup.
      • For Transaction Log Backup with DB health check: Add the /t switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /t "C:\Backups")
      • For Transaction Log Backup with no DB health check: Add the /t /b switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /t /b "C:\Backups")
        • Note: The command line parameter /t and /b must be entered in lowercase. Using an uppercase letter will result in an incomplete backup. 
        • For more information regarding Transaction Log backups, see what is a CCH ProSystem fx Engagement Transaction Log Backup.
      • For DB Health Check only: Add the /h switch and the path information for the desired location surrounded by quotation marks. (e.g. /t /b "C:\Backups").  The task will create a log file with the results of the health check in the specified location.
        • Note: The command line parameter /h must be entered in lowercase. Using an uppercase letter will result in an incomplete backup. 
      • List of available command line arguments:

 

1. Verify that the settings on the Conditions and Settings tabs are set to meet your needs.
2. Click OK to save the information.
3. Provide the credentials for the account that the scheduled task is to run as.
   • If receiving the "The specified account name is not valid." follow the link below:
     • "An error has occurred for task BackupRestoreUtil. Error message: The specified account name is not valid." when creating or modifying schedule task for the CCH® ProSystem fx® Engagement Database Backup and Restore Utility.
4. The BackupRestoreUtil will appear listed in the Task Scheduler Library.

To restore from backup, please see the following articles:

• How do I restore a single binder from backup?
• How do I do a full restore of the ProSystem fx Engagement Office Server databases?

Verifying your Task Scheduler task and backup are executing as planned.

• First run after creating the task:
  • To test both the Scheduled task you have just finished creating, run the task manually.
    • Select the task in the Task Scheduler library list and click Run.
      • 
• Now, to verify the successful completion of the Scheduled task and the CCH ProSystem fx Engagement Database Backup & Restore Utility itself please refer to the following article:
  • How do I verify my CCH® ProSystem fx® Engagement or Workpaper Manager backups are executing successfully?
• Note: The CCH ProSystem fx Engagement Database Backup & Restore Utility does not manage the amount of disk space consumed by the .bak files that it creates. Your firm will need to implement a process to manage these .bak files based on your data retention requirements.

Note: The transaction log backup solution is recommended over the differential backup method as it does not require the database enter Single_User mode to complete the Transaction Log backup like it does for the differential backup.

• What is a Transaction Log Backup for CCH® ProSystem fx® Engagement or Workpaper Manager?