Disaster Recovery and backing up Template and Resource pool

[jim harris]

I am in charge of implementing Project Server 2003 with Windows Sharepoint
Services. I was reading the Project Server 2003 disaster recovery guide. It
mentions I should on occasion backup the Enterprise Global Template and
Enterprise Resource Pool. Can anyone give me some direction on how to do
that? I do have a schedule to backup SQL 2000 on a daily basis. I guess the
Enterprise Global Template and Enterprise Resource Pool are not in the SQL
database???

 

[Reid McTaggart]

To backup Enterprise Global: Tools > Enterprise Options > Backup enterprise
Global.

To backup Enterprise Resource Pool: Tools > Enterprise Options > Open
enterprise Resource Pool > Select All > Open > File > Save As > Save as File.

-Reid

 

[Reid McTaggart]

To answer your other question: Yes, they are in the database, but restoring
them is less painful and disruptive if you have backed them up separately.

-Reid

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Jim --

If you back up the SQL Server database for Project Server, you are backing
up both the Enterprise Global and the Enterprise Resource Pool. Hope this
helps.

 

[Eleanor, MCSE/MCT]

Dale,

I went to a company to build Project Server on a new server, as their old
one probably should not have been called a server. I had planned on moving
the existing database and then just connecting to that, which would, as
stated in this message, included the global template and resource template.
They did not use SharePoint at the time, so those databases were a moot issue.

However, when I found out that they did not care about the projects on the
old server, I just built the new one. Oops, didn't obviously think through
that one. Now the client wants their same outline codes, enterprise codes,
views, etc. Resouces are not crucial, as I will need to teach them the
concept of "enterprise resources"

The question then is: If I just want the Outline/Enterprise codes, views,
etc. Can I just save the global template file from the old system and then
select that for the new system, thus hopefully making one system at least
look like the other. If yes, how? I could, I guess, go ahead and just connect
the existing database to the new server, but then I would have to delete the
projects contained within the database. Basically, I just need the shell, so
to speak, of the application at this juncture. What is the best (easiest)
way to make this work?

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

-Eleanor

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Eleanor --

One option you might consider is logging into the old Project Server
instance and then backing up the Enterprise Global file using Tools -
Enterprise Options - Backup Enterprise Global. After doing so, you could
then log into the new Project Server instance and restore the Enterprise
Global file from the old instance using Tools - Enterprise Options - Restore
Enterprise Global. However, given your statement "their old one probably
should not have been called a server", I would be VERY CONCERNED about using
this approach. Therefore, do so only at your own risk!

A better approach, in my opinion, would be to export the custom enterprise
fields and outline codes into a project, along with any custom Views,
Tables, Filters, Groups, etc. To export the custom enterprise fields and
outline codes, you would need to export them to local fields and outline
codes. For example, if you have a custom enterprise Project outline code
called Location, you would need to create a local custom outline code called
something like Project Location, and then import the code mask and lookup
table using the Import Custom Field button in the Customize Fields dialog.
Export both custom enterprise Project and Task field and outline codes into
local Task fields and outline codes, and export custom enterprise Resource
fields and outline codes to local Resource fields and outline codes.

To copy custom Views, Tables, Filters, Groups, etc., you can open the
Enterprise Global file on the old server and then use Tools - Organizer to
copy them from the Enterprise Global file to the project file. After you
save the project file as an .mpp file, you can then reverse the above
process by logging into the new Project Server instance, opening the
Enterprise Global file, and then importing the local fields and outline
codes into new custom enterprise fields and outline codes. You can also use
the Organizer to copy custom Views, Tables, Filters, and Groups to the
Enterprise Global file.

I realize that the process I describe is time consuming, but it is the
process I probably use myself, given the concerns you state about the old
Project Server instance. Hope this helps.

 

[Eleanor, MCSE/MCT]

Dale,

Thank you for your response. Option two does sound much more extensive;
however, it would appear that it is more thorough. When I spoke about the
"old" server, I should have said, "someone built it on a desktop". So, if
the stability of the data is not the issue, would it not be easier to save
and then restore the Global Template? If yes, does the Global Template
inlcude views as well? I also need to move over any standard templates they
may have. Is there a best practice around this?

Thank you again for your help.

-Eleanor

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Eleanor --

If you believe both servers are stable, then yes, it would certainly be
easier to backup the Enterprise Global on the first server and restore it on
the second. Before you do this, be sure to backup the Enterprise Global on
the second server, just in case. When you backup the Enterprise Global on
the first server, the backup will include all custom enterprise Fields,
Views, Tables, Filters, Groups, Reports, Macros, Toolbars, etc.

To backup enterprise project templates, you will need to open a new project
from each template, and then save the projects as .mpp files. You can then
import these .mpp files as enterprise templates into the second server using
Tools - Enterprise Options - Import Project to Enterprise. Hope this helps.

 

[Jim P]

Eleanor,

In reading through the questions and responses I was not sure of two
aspects.

1. When you mention Views, are you talking PWA Views or Project
Professional Views?
The Project Professional Views are stored in the Enterprise Global. The
PWA Views are not part of the Enterprise Global.

2. When you mention templates, are you refering to Enterprise Templates
(in the template dialog box when you create a new project these show up
under the Enterprise Template tab)? If so, then the client comment that
"they did not need the projects from the original database" was really
incorrect since the templates are actually projects, saved as
"templates" when saving the project to Project Server in Project Pro.

Given that you might need the PWA views and the templates, you might
reconsider the use of the original database. If there are only a few
templates and PWA views I would tend to follow Dale's guidance and then
recreate the PWA Views and save the Enterprise Templates from the old
system to a file and then import them into the new system. If there are
a lot of PWA Views and Enterprise Templates that they desire to retain,
then I would copy the original database to the server and then clean up
the projects and resources.

Hope this helps,
Jim Peters

 

[Eleanor, MCSE/MCT]

Jim,

It sounds as if I may need to do the database restore. Off the top of my
head, I already know how to back up and restore a SQL database; however, I do
not remember how to connect Project Server to the new database. Do you know
or can you point me in the direction documentation that would help?

Thank you

-Eleanor