In the SAPDBA program you can use the Backup database menu to back up data files and the control file (and also the online redo log files if you are making an offline backup of the whole database). You must have these files if you have lost data and want to recover it. You can also back up non-database files and directories.

The SAPDBA option Backup database calls the SAP utility BRBACKUP. You can also make a backup directly using the SAP Utility Programs for Backups by calling BRBACKUP yourself.

You can also use the Computing Center Management System to schedule a backup, start it and then view its log. For more information, see the R/3 Library on the Computing Center Management System (CCMS).

• Read about the technical options of the SAP Utility Programs for Backups.
• Familiarize yourself with backup concepts and strategies.
• Remember that the SAP System is not available for production work during an offline backup, since the database is closed. You can make an online backup when the database system and R/3 System are running. Make sure that the database is running in ARCHIVELOG mode.
• Make sure the necessary parameters have been set in the initialization profile init<DBSID>.sap for BRBACKUP.
• Make sure you have the right backup volumes. When you back up to tape, make sure that you have read the notes on managing and initializing the tapes.
• Allow enough time for the backup: It takes approximately an hour to back up 600-800 MB to tape with a DAT drive (without hardware compression); using this as a basis, schedule around ten hours for backing up a 6 GB database. Using hardware compression can double the backup speed.

1. In SAPDBA choose Backup database to call the BRBACKUP utility program. The default parameters for BRBACKUP, which are set in the initialization profile init<DBSID>.sap, trigger an offline full database backup to a local tape device (tape size 1200 MB) without file compression. This means that the online redo log files and a control file are backed up as well as the data files.
2. If necessary, change these defaults in the menu SAPDBA: Backup Database. SAPDBA only allows you to change some of the parameters in init<DBSID>.sap. If you have to make other changes, you will have to change the initialization profile manually and then restart SAPDBA.
3. Select Start BRBACKUP to start the backup. If the backup is being made locally or remote to tapes or disks, then the backup is monitored and an estimation is made of the backup time, based on time elapsed and the size of the files that still have to be backed up. You also see success or error messages.
4. Check the summary log (back<DBSID>.log) to see which return code was sent when the backup was completed. For information on the progress of the backup, see the detail log (b<encoded timestamp>.<ext>). See BRBACKUP Logs