Performing Backups with Non-Sybase Products

Sybase IQ supports backup and restore using a number of third-party products. The package you use must conform to the Adaptive Server Enterprise Backup Interface. Check the documentation for your product to be sure that it supports Sybase databases.

To perform such a backup or restore, you issue the BACKUP or RESTORE statement as if you were using Sybase IQ to perform the operation, with the following exceptions:

For each archive_device, instead of specifying the actual device name, specify a string in the following format:
```
dll_name::vendor_specific_information
```
Do not specify the STACKER or SIZE parameters.

The dll_name corresponds to a Dynamic Link Library loaded at run time. It can be from 1 to 30 bytes long, and can contain only alphanumeric and underscore characters. The dll_name must be the same for each archive_device.

The content of vendor_specific_information varies by product, and can differ for each archive_device. The total string (including dll_name:: and vendor information) can be up to 255 bytes long.

The backup program passes vendor information to the third-party program automatically. When you request a third-party backup, it places this information in the backup header file, and writes the header file on the first tape or disk file actually created for each archive_device you specify.

Note: Only certain third party products are certified with Sybase IQ using this syntax. See the Release Bulletin for additional usage instructions or restrictions. Before using any third party product to back up your IQ database in this way, make sure it is certified. See the Sybase Certification Reports for the Sybase IQ product in Technical Documents.