About backing up the configuration and content databases

In Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, all server and site configuration information is stored in the configuration database, and all site content is stored in content databases. If you want to back up all the Windows SharePoint Services information on your server or server farm, you must back up these databases by using the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 backup and restore tools.

Notes

• You must be running SQL Server 2000 SP3 to back up and restore the databases used by Windows SharePoint Services. If you are running Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (Windows) 2000 (WMSDE), you can use the client tools for SQL Server 2000 to back up and restore WMSDE databases, but there is no provision for backing up and restoring from WMSDE itself.
• To back up and restore the configuration and content databases, you must be logged on using an account that is a member of the db_admin role in SQL Server.

Note  You can also back up and restore individual Web sites that are hosted on your server or server farm. This backup and restore method is not dependent on the type of database that you are using. You can perform this backup and restore even if you are running WMSDE instead of SQL Server 2000. For more information, see About backing up site collections.