1227 - SIMS, FMS, and Discover on ESE

The ESE Agent provides specialised backup for educational institutions in the United Kingdom that make use of the Education Software Solutions (ESS) Schools Management Information System (SIMS), formerly known as Capita SIMS. If ESS components are detected on a machine, the related viewing options will appear in the ESE Agent to facilitate backup management.

Note:

• Normal operations can continue while a backup is in progress, but the backup may slow down your systems. Be sure to schedule backups (see Article 1130) to occur a suitable time, possibly outside of working hours.
• Updates to SIMS and Microsoft SQL will likely interfere with backups and should therefore be run at a different time.

Backing up SIMS information

If SIMS is installed on the Agent machine, the SIMS view will be displayed in the Backup Selection tab.

SIMS Shared Directory and SIMS Document Management Server (DMS)

To include the Shared Directory and/or DMS in the backup selection:

1. Open the SIMS view.
2. In the Manage SIMS workspace on the left, click EDIT to change the SIMS components included in the backup.
   
   
   
   
3. In the Backup Configuration workspace that appears on the right, select Back Up SIMS Shared Directory and/or Back Up SIMS Document Management Server.
   
   
   
   
4. Browse for the folder where the Shared Directory and DMS are installed.
5. Click Save.

The Backup Configuration section on the left will be updated to “Backing Up SIMS Shared Directory”. The data will be included in the next backup.

SIMS databases

Since the SIMS modules rely on SQL Server databases, these databases have to be included/excluded explicitly from the SIMS view. The process is twofold:

1. Add the SIMS SQL Server to the Backup Configuration
2. Add any database for the server to the Backup Configuration

a) To add the SIMS SQL Server:

1. Open the SIMS view.
2. In the Manage SIMS workspace on the left, click ADD SERVER.
   
   
   
   
3. In the Add SIMS Server workspace that appears on the right, enter the details of the SQL Server that hosts the SIMS databases.
4. Also enter the name of the folder where database data is to be saved prior to being backed up.
   
   
   
   Note:
   
   • A “capita” subfolder will automatically be created in the specified location.
   • This is the folder from where all database files will be backed up, which means this location will be used when data is searched for in the Restore tab when restoring files. For example:
     
     
     
     
5. Click Save.

The Backup Configuration workspace on the left will be updated to indicate that the server has been added. You can now add the databases that should be included in the next backup (see below).



Note: Additional servers can be added at this point. Just repeat the process described above.

b) To include databases associated with the SIMS SQL Server:

1. In the Manage SIMS workspace on the left, directly below the relevant server entry, click ADD DATABASE.
   
   
   
   
2. In the Add/Remove… workspace that appears on the right, select (to include) or deselect (to exclude) databases from the backup selection.
   
   
   
   Note: We suggest including the “master” database, since foundational information about your databases is usually kept there.
   
   
3. Click Save. The Backup Configuration section will be updated to reflect the databases selected for backup.
   
   
   
   Note: Additional database selection changes can be done at this point. Just repeat the process described above.

Backing up FMS and Discover information

The process for including and excluding information from the FMS and Discover components is the same as that of SIMS. Simply follow the steps as described under SIMS databases above.