An offline backup is a copy of the database files. You should only perform an offline backup when the database is not running, and when the database server has shut down properly.

All of the tools included with SQL Anywhere, such as the Backup Database utility (dbbackup), BACKUP DATABASE statement, and Sybase Central wizards, perform online backups while the database is running.

Backing up a running database provides a snapshot of the database where the data is in a consistent state, even though other users are modifying the database.

 See also