Database Management Overview

In this topic:

Management Folders that Allow Database Management

To understand the flow of data from the Client Recorder to the Dashboard see Tracing Recorded Data.

Master Dashboard Login, Allow Database Maintenance

The Spector 360 Databases store the recorded data for the Dashboard to access for search, filtering and display. The Spector 360 Databases for the most part are self-maintaining and require no special database knowledge. A Master Login with Database Maintenance privileges can monitor the status of this data and manage disk space issues.

Note: Be sure you have a Dashboard installed on the computer where the Database resides, because some operations can be performed only on the computer where the data resides.

Jobs Management

The Jobs folder in Management allows you to view progress and success of the automatic jobs, as well as control job scheduling:

Schedule regular backups or perform immediate backups for security of the data
Direct database backup jobs to a specific destination on the network
Check the Job History for backups, archive/restore operations, Data Vault processing, database maintenance and so on

Backup and Restore

The Backup and Restore folder is where a Master login monitors scheduled backups and where the SA login is able to restore or delete a database backup. Recorded data can grow quickly in size, and you must have a plan for cycling old data to make room for the new.

View currently available backups
Restore a backup from a folder, if necessary
Restore all backed up data to a new computer in the event of a system failure

Backups vs. Archives
A Full Backup allows you to restore all Spector 360 databases if the databases have become compromised or if a "fresh install" of Spector 360 is required. A restore operation overwrites the current databases and resets them to a previous state. The Archive function is only available after a STORAGE database reaches 2 GB. An archive contains only recorded data and can be restored for access at any time without affecting the current state of the database.

Databases

The Databases folder lists all databases and their sizes. STORAGE databases store the Client recordings. When they reach a size of approximately 2 GB, a new STORAGE database is automatically created. To manage disk space, you can archive STORAGE databases that have reached the maximum 2 GB size.

View database history and statistics
Archive a full STORAGE database to move it off the system
Automatically archive full STORAGE databases after a time period or after creation of a certain number of additional STORAGE databases.
Specify whether or not Snapshots and Email Attachments will be included with archives
Restore an archived STORAGE database to make older data accessible again

File Storage Location

Specify a location on the Data Vault computer for File Storage folders (Email Attachments and Screen Snapshots).
Define a share for this location (if desired) that will be used by all Dashboard logins.

Database Configuration

Use the SA account to set a maximum Database size.
Determine how memory is used.
Turn on debug logging and indexing.
Set the location of the Database data and logs.
Set the location for Backup and Archives.
Determine whether Screen Snapshots and Email Attachment should be copied with Backup / Restore operations.
Set the maximum number of errors before a Backup / Archive / Restore process stops.

Space Management

Enable automatic space management.
Set up automatic archiving and deletion of archives.
Set up automatic deletion of old data records.
Set up automatic deletion of Backup sets.

See the Spector 360 Administrator's Guide for instructions on additional tasks, such as monitoring the Data Vault service, verifying that the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent are running, and updating the Spector 360 Databases.