## Backup Database

Regular database backups are an essential part of site management to help guard against data loss in the event of corrupt data or server hardware failure. The database contains all of the site's key data such your site settings, member details, their messages, preferences, payment info, etc. The data stored in the database is the heart and soul of your site, losing it could be catastrophic!

IMPORTANT

1. The database does NOT contain member photos! If you want to back them up as well you'll need to download the "media" folder by ftp.
2. This tool is ideal for small to medium sized databases. If your database is real large you may run into timeout issues when backing up or importing your database. You will need to contact your host or possibly seek a more robust 3rd party backup and restore solution or service capable of handling large databases.
3. This option ONLY backs up your Etano database. If you have other databases (for forums, chats, other sites) you must back them up using their respective backup options or directly from phpMyAdmin.