Integratis Inc. strongly recommends that daily, periodic and project back-ups / archives be stored in more than one location (for example, one set on-site and one set off-site) to avoid catastrophic data loss.
For daily and/or periodic back-ups:
• If you're hosting the files with FileMaker Pro, close the files on all workstations (INCLUDING the host) and run our backup software or copy the files to external media (and "eject" that external media so users' machines do not start accessing the backup copies of the files instead of the working copy). "Save A Copy As..." under "File" can only be done when you are working on the host machine and nobody else has the file open. You can not make a backup from a guest machine (and you wouldn't want your guests to be able to copy the entire file anyway).
• If you're hosting with FileMaker Server (strongly recommended), schedule the Filemaker Server application to make a backup to another directory and then run your backup software from that application.
For archiving:
• To make a full database "archive" (meaning something you put away for eternity, not something that will be overwritten in next week's backup), use the information above to make two backup copies to external media and store them in separate locations. Integratis Inc. highly recommends implementing a schedule (daily, weekly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually, etc.) and sticking to it so data is easier to track down if necessary.