It is sometimes necessary for us to access a backup of the Troika SQL database for investigation purposes.


Backing up the Troika SQL Database


These operations should be carried out by your database administrator (DBA). Please ensure you have up-to-date and verified backups before attempting to run any operations on your server. These notes are intended for guidance only and should not be relied on. Always seek advice from your DBA before completing any work on SQL Server.


Often a copy of the previous night's SQL backup is sufficient for our investigations, however on occasions you may be asked to do a manual one.


In the event you require guidance on completing a backup, please follow Microsoft's instruction:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/backup-restore/quickstart-backup-restore-database?view=sql-server-ver16&tabs=ssms#take-a-backup


Anonymising the SQL Database Backup


Whilst some organisations are happy to share SQL backups with us, in line with our confidentiality clause in our contract, some would prefer the information anonymised before sending. This is perfectly acceptable.


With a SQL backup of the database, complete the following additional steps:

  • Restore that SQL backup as a new SQL database. Ensure it is re-named to something which clearly relates to it being temporary and/or for testing/anonymisation purposes.
  • Run the attached Anonymise.sql SQL script against the new SQL database.
  • Backup the new SQL database.
  • Compress the SQL database backup file into a compressed zip file, if required.
  • Send the file to support (request a Sharefile link if required, due to size limitations on email).


Any questions, please contact support.


This article was last reviewed 07/2024.