SQL Safe allows you to modify many of the default settings of the application, and you can change your Management Console Preferences at any time. To access this option, go to the Tools Menu and select the respective option. The window for Management Console Preferences allows you to modify settings in the following categories:
What Backup settings can you change?
On the Backup tab, you can set the default parameters that appear on the Backup Wizard. Set the default parameters to the values you typically use. If you want to use different settings on any given backup, you can still make changes on the wizard itself.
The parameters you can set include the following:
- Backup archives location.
- Tivoli Storage Manager backup archives location.
- Default compression and encryption algorithms.
- Generating maps containing metadata for use with InstantRestore and SQL virtual database.
- Auto-generated backup file names.
- Number of threads employed in a backup.
What Agent Deployment settings can you change?
On the Agent Deployment tab, you can identify service account used to run the agents. You can also choose whether or not you want to automatically upgrade the Backup Agents and the XSP if you upgrade to a new SQL Safe version.
What User Experience settings can you change?
On the User Experience tab, you can:
- Enable automatic refresh on screen and set the number of seconds between each refresh.
- Change display settings for server status.
- Set the Total Cost of Ownership parameter necessary to calculate your return on investment.
- Configure troubleshooting settings.
What Policy Data settings can you change?
On the Policy Data tab you can define the location of your policy data files.
By default, policy data files are stored in the C:\InstallPath\SQL Safe\PolicyData folder, but you can use this option to specify a different location. Click Local Path and browse the folder where you want to store your policy data files or select the respective option for creating a new folder.
By default,each agent uses its own installation directory to store policy data. If a custom location cannot be created on a specific server, the Backup Agent will use <InstallPath>\PolicyData.
What Amazon Settings can you change?
On the Amazon Settings tab, you can:
- Specify the Access and Secret Key of your cloud credentials.
- Select the Region where your information will be stored.
- Set the Bucket Name where your backup will be stored.
- Specify the Part Size in megabytes of the backup file that will be sent to the bucket simultaneously.
The minimal value for File Size is 10 MB. (1,000,000 bytes).
- Specify the Temporary Download Location to improve resiliency and performance when downloading large backup files from Amazon S3 Cloud Storage. This location will be displayed when the "Download File from Cloud" option is checked in a restore wizard or restore policy.
When Amazon cloud settings are set in the preferences, they can be used in backup and restore operations.
- When performing backup and restore operations, you will see the option to specify Subfolder(s) (optional) if you want to save your backup file or restore it from there. Consider the following situations:
- If the Subfolder field is left empty, the backup file will be saved in the root of the specified container.
- If the Subfolder field is populated with the name of a folder which does not exist on the storage container \ bucket, the folder will be created and the backup file will be saved to the specified Subfolder.
- Multiple Subfolders can be specified by separating each folder with a forward slash: MyFolder/MySubfolder/MyNestedFolder.
What Azure Settings can you change?
On the Azure Settings tab, you can:
- Specify the name of the Azure Container where the new blob will be created and the backup stored.
- Specify the Azure Storage Account Name and Access Key.
- Define the Azure Sector Type:
- Public - commercial cloud storage solution.
- Government - cloud storage solution offered to US government customers and their partners.
- Specify the Part Size in megabytes of the backup file that will be sent to the bucket simultaneously.
The minimal value for File Size is 10 MB. (1,000,000 bytes).
- Specify the Temporary Download Location to improve resiliency and performance when downloading large backup files from Microsoft Azure Blob Storage. This location will be displayed when the "Download File from Cloud" option is checked in a restore wizard or restore policy.
When Azure settings are set in the preferences, they can be used in backup and restore operations.