How to store a Backup for later use

@Melissa Duffy Hi Melissa, just wanted to let you know, I've gone ahead and moved this discussion thread from the Blackbaud CRM to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge section of the user community, since you mentioned Raiser's Edge in your original question.

My gut says that you'll need to save/extract the files to some sort of local or cloud storage, before the 7 days are up. I would not expect the links to work after those 7 days if they expire, but I will defer to someone else to confirm that. I could be mistaken on that though, so please get confirmation from someone who knows Raiser's Edge specifically.

@Melissa Duffy

I’m not sure about Raiser's Edge, but I am familiar with the process for handling Raiser's Edge NXT backup files.

If you just want to keep it for backup purposes, you only need to download and securely store the backup file, the certificate, the private key, and the decryption key for future use.

If you want to restore the backup into SQL Server, please follow the instructions below.
Step 1. Download the Backup File:
First, download your backup file from the link provided by Blackbaud. Since the link expires in 7 days.
Step 2. Download the Certificate and Private Key:
The database backup is encrypted, so you will also need to download the certificate and private key files provided by Blackbaud.
Step 3. Restore the Database in Microsoft SQL Server (Version 2019 or later):
Once you have the backup file, certificate, and private key, you can restore the database on your local Microsoft SQL Server by following these steps:
Step 3.a Create a Master Key on your SQL Server
CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = '<a secure password>';
Step 3.b Create the Certificate Locally
CREATE CERTIFICATE [BlackbaudNightlyBackup]
FROM FILE = '<path to the certificate file>'
WITH PRIVATE KEY (
FILE = '<path to the private key file>',
DECRYPTION BY PASSWORD = '<password provided by Blackbaud>'
);
Step 3.c Create a Database in SQL Server
Create a new database where you will restore the backup.
Step 3.d Restore the Backup File
RESTORE DATABASE <Database Name>
FROM DISK = '<path to the backup file>'
WITH REPLACE;
GO

Note:
To understand the table structure (i.e., which table contains what information) in your backup file, you may need the schema file as a reference. You can find more information here:

Thank you!
Venky

@Denise Miller

Yes, you are correct. Having a backup file from Blackbaud allows us to identify the records that were deleted, and from there you can manually add them back into your live system.

While your IT team is restoring the backup file into SQL Server, you can in parallel review this Blackbaud Knowledge Base article that outlines the database schema this document explains the table structure of the Blackbaud database and details exactly what type of information is stored in each table. This will help your team know precisely where to look when running SQL queries to locate the constituent record, along with its associated gifts, actions, and any other related data:

https://kb.blackbaud.com/knowledgebase/articles/Article/75380

Once your IT team has restored the backup file in the SQL Server database, you can use this schema as a reference while running SQL queries to extract the necessary data. From there, it is simply a matter of manually re-entering that information back into your live NXT system.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you!

Venky provided some good info for you to work from, if you are only able to restore the database. The backup file can be restored and also "loaded" onto a locally installed RE instance. This is a complex operation though, that your IT team will have to work heavily with some help from Blackbaud if they have never done this before. However, if they do this, then you will be able to login to a backup instance of RE, open the constituent record in RE dbview, and review each "tab" (i.e. Bio1, Bio2, Relationship, Gift, Event, etc) to replicate the data in your production RE.

If you end up just having the RE database loaded to MS SQL server without the RE, you will need to know which table to find all the data:

• RECORDS
  • Constituent ID, Name, Birthday, etc
• CONSTITUENT_CODES
  • for constituent code, but you won't know what is the code as it is a "table", you will get a number only, and then need to reference the TABLEENTRIES table to know the actual description of the constituent code
• GIFT
  • for basic gift info like gift date, gift amount
  • GIFTSPLIT
    • for gift split info for campaign, fund, appeal, package and split amount, but CFAP is also just a number, referencing another tables of actual CFAP info (id, description, etc)
    • CAMPAIGN
    • FUND
    • APPEAL
    • PACKAGE
  • GIFTSOLICITOR
    • for gift solicitor/fundraiser info
  • GIFTSOFTCREDIT
    • for gift soft credit (who and how much)

unless you are already familiar with SQL database schema of RE and know where to find what you want, I think may be best for your IT team to restore a RE instance