A backup is a copy of your data, having a copy of your data could be the difference between treating your patients after a power outage or a loss of earnings while you attempt to recover some data.

• Setting up an EXACT network backup
• Logging into a Network Backup
• Checking the backup log
• Why are backups so important?
• SoE disclaimers for backup strategy & functionality

Setting up an EXACT network backup (on exit)

1. Go to Configure then Computer Settings. (Security Permissions required).
2. From the screen below click on the “Prompt for Backup on exit”.
3. This will prompt you to select a location where the backup will be located.
   A folder will be created in your selected location, called databkup. Make sure that the location has enough space to perform the backup otherwise it may affect the performance of your computer. Alternatively an external backup device can be used, which can then be taken away from the practice.
   
4. You also have the option to backup subdirectories.
   With this ticked, as well as the backup copying the default files (EXACT database, FS5 & IDX files) it will backup the folders that contain X-rays, Patient Contacts, scanned and imported files, Completed Patient Portal & Clinipad forms, email attachments and letter templates. These additional folders usually make up 75%+ of the EXACT data folders size.

Once enabled, whenever you log off from EXACT on that workstation you will be prompted to perform a network backup.

Backups can be performed as often as you wish but if people are using the system it could cause performance issues as well as making the backup take longer to finish. 
We would recommend doing so at lunchtime or at the end of the day.

Consult your IT to set the backup in conjunction with any other backup systems you are running in the Practice.

The backup will write to a log file which will be located in the data folder of EXACT e.g; \\server\EXACTData\logfiles\backup.log
This will tell you the computer, userid , location and whether the backup was successful or not.  If the backup fails for any reason it will automatically open this log file on screen.

Please note: the location you are backing up to will need windows permissions to write to the folder, if you have any errors regarding this please do the following:

1. Right click the backup folder (i.e C:\DataBkup) and go to “properties”.
2. Then on the security tab click “edit”, highlight “users” and tick the full control box to make sure all windows users can read/write to that folder.

Checking the backup log (viewing backup history)

1. Go to D:\exactwin\data (or where your data is located).

2. Locate the folder called logfiles then double click Backup.log.

3. Scroll to the bottom to view the most recent backup information.
   This will show whether the prompt to backup was accepted, declined, failed or successful.

This can also be viewed by going to \\SERVERNAME\EXACTData\Logfiles and opening backup.log from there (Replace SERVERNAME with the name of your EXACT Server name).

Why are backups so important?

If your Server machine encounters an issue that stops you from accessing EXACT an up to date backup means you can get logged back in and working quickly.
Without a backup strategy in place you will are likely to not be able to recover EXACT data and may need to start again, inputting all your data from scratch.

EXACT has built in capabilities to perform a Backup each time a user exits the program which we recommend doing at the end of each working day. This process makes a copy of the EXACT database on the local workstation or an External drive.
This alone makes your data quite resilient but does not cover you for Practice wide catastrophes such as fire, flooding or theft.
This is why 3rd party backups (i.e Cloud) are recommended, please speak to your IT for assistance with these. You will need to configure your backup software to copy the EXACT database while the database is not in use.

Each workstation can store one copy of the data, so it could be advisable to cycle through different workstations each day, or make sure that your offsite backup (i.e Cloud) store multiple days in case some corruption is not discovered for a few days. 

SoE disclaimers for backup strategy & functionality

• The dental practice is responsible for arranging, configuring, maintaining and testing a backup strategy.
• Software of Excellence or Henry Schein One cannot be held responsible for any backup negligence on the part of the practice, nor is Software of Excellence or Henry Schein One responsible for ensuring that backup tapes are regularly checked for functional operation – this remains the responsibility of the dental practice or its associated IT services.
• The practice and / or its associated IT contractor is responsible for configuring, maintaining and testing a backup strategy.
• Software of Excellence or Henry Schein One cannot be held responsible for any negligence on the part of the practice.
• The responsibility for third party backup technology remains with the dental practice and / or its IT supplier.
• Software of Excellence or Henry Schein One is not responsible for ensuring that backup tapes are regularly checked for functional operation – this remains the responsibility of the dental practice and / or its associated IT services.
• Software of Excellence and Henry Schein One take no responsibility for any issues arising from a manual database restoration, and it is strongly recommended that you contact the Support Desk for help if you need to restore a database from a backup.
• Software of Excellence and Henry Schein One do not specifically recommend any 3rd party backup software providers.