SharePoint | Leveraging data management options

In SharePoint, there are many options and APIs to move, copy, duplicate, export content from one place to the other.

Common scenarios involve performing tasks such as archiving, back-ups, or related actions that require fetching information from a source and sending it over to a destination.

This post enumerates a few of those options, along with their benefits and caveats.


Content Database

Context: Multiple Site Collections (.bak)

One of the most common means of backing up and/or migrating content is using the whole database.
Databases store pretty much all the content of one or more sites, and they are our best option for reproducing content, while maintaining all the integrity of the source.

Backups can be created by copying the physical .mdf and .log.mdf files, or by exporting the database into a .bak file.

This is a brief example procedure for backing up a content database:
  1. In SQL Server Management Studio, right-click the content database, choose Tasks, Backup
  2. Make sure to choose "Full" backup and "Add" a storage location
 To restore the database:
  1. In SQL Server Management Studio, create a new, empty database with a name of choice
  2. Right-click the new database and pick Tasks, Restore, Database
  3. Click "From device" and pick the .bak file
  4. Enable the "Restore" checkbox
  5. Go to Options and enable "Overwrite the exiting database (WITH RELPACE) so that you overwrite the newly created database with the backup database
  6. In a SharePoint Management Shell
    1. Dismount-SPContentDatabase [OldDatabaseName]
    2. Mount-SPContentDatabase [NewDatabaseName] -DatabaseServer [ServerName] -WebApplication [WebUrl]


Backup-SPSite / Restore-SPSite


Context: Single Site Collection, Multiple Web Sites(.bak)

This CmdLet enables us to export a whole site collection, maintaining its GUIDS.

"It preserves the GUID of every object except the GUID of the Site: when you restore the backup, SharePoint generates a new GUID for the site collection."

Restore-SPSite | Backup-SPSite


Export-SPWeb / Import-SPWeb

Context: Single Web Site or specific Web resources (e.g. List) (.cmp)

This CmdLet enables us to export a web site, or parts of a web site, such as a list.
There are some caveats to this approach, specially if you are looking for an exact replication of a site (e.g. reproduce a production environment).

"A major drawback of this operation is that it does not preserves workflows instances, associations, history and tasks."

Export-SPWeb | Import-SPWeb



Move-SPSite / Copy-SPSite

Context: Single Site Collection

This is a useful CmdLet for moving a site collection from one content database to another.

Move-SPSite | Copy-SPSite


SPFile.CopyTo / SPFile.MoveTo

Context: Single Item (List/Library)

This method is able to copy an item from a source list to a destination list.
It is meant for usage in Document Libraries, although it has been proven to work with list items as well (see link at the end).

SPFile.CopyTo | SPFile.MoveTo


RootFolder.Files.Add()

Context: Single Document Library Item

This is one of the best alternatives to CopyTo/MoveTo, as they don't always work, specially on lists with many custom fields and content types.
Adding a new item based on an existing item proved to be a good workaround when copying/moving items.

SPFileCollection.Add


SendTo

Context: Single Item (List/Library)

SendTo is a simple, yet functional way of moving items through the UI.
When we move an item, we have the option to keep it linked to the original item or create a new copy.


File Explorer

Context: Multiple Document Library Item

This is by far one of my favourites.
Although the option to open a list in explorer is only available in Internet Explorer, we can also map a folder to take advantage of this easily.
One of the best cases most people are unaware is that we can effectivelly move a document, while keeping all its metadata and versions, just as long as we actually "move" it, not "copy" it.
This may not be true for certain file types, such as PDFs.

Another nice perk is being able to hide specific files or folders, based on the windows "show hidden files and folders" setting.
SharePoint does this by default on items with their names start with an underscore.

$folder = (Get-SPWeb http://url).Folders["DocLib_Name"]
$folder.Properties["vti_winfileattribs"]="00000016"
$folder.Update()

$file = (Get-SPWeb http://url).GetFile("/doclib/file.extension")
$file.Properties["vti_winfileattribs"]="00000016"
$file.Update()

 

Site Content and Structure

Context: Site Collection / Multiple Document Library Item

This option is available under Site Actions, "Manage Content and Structure" in the UI.
It's not the most famous feature ever, but for some cases, it serves its purpose, which is to copy or move items within the same site collection.


Templates (Web, List)

Context: Single Web Site or Single List (.stp)

Templates in SharePoint (.stp, .wsp) are great ways of exporting content. They seem like a nice approach, but quickly we start identitying a few caveats:
  • Limited (customizable) content size

    "Site templates are saved from within a site as an .stp file that contains a set of all modified files and lists in the source site. The file can also contain content from the source site, such as list items and documents. By default, the maximum size of an .stp file is 10MB." [ref]

    Workaround: bump up to 100MB (maximum is 500)
    stsadm -o setproperty -propertyname max-template-document-size -propertyvalue 100000000
    


    or PowerShell [ref]

    $webservice = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPWebService]::ContentService
    $webservice.MaxTemplateDocumentSize = [new_value]
    $webservice.Update()
    

  • Only for Webs, not Sites
    Workaround: save each site individually and restore them individually
  • Dependencies

    One of the biggest challenges is dependencies.
    Whenever we save a template of a site, it stores references of the web and site scoped features.
    For lists, we also must ensure the same columns and content types exist, otherwise, we may be able to create the templates, but we won't be able to create lists based on that template later.

    Links:
    _layouts/savetmpl.aspx (available through the UI once the publishing feature is enabled)

    Example: Creating a new web based on a web template through PowerShell


    #see which templates are available
    $site = Get-SPSite http://weburl/sites/site1
    $templateName = $site.GetWebTemplates(1033) | where-object{$_.Title -eq "my_template_title"} | select Name
    #"{CCC38530-B9B3-418A-BB87-91CA7F626711}#my_template_title"
    #create a new web based on a template
    $web = New-SPWeb http://weburl/sites/site1/web1 -Name mynewweb -UseParentTopNav -Language 1033
    $web.ApplyWebTemplate($templateName)
    



Content Deployment Wizard

Context: Site Collection / Web Site / List

Nice open source tool from Codeplex.


"The SharePoint Content Deployment Wizard provides the means to deploy the following content:

- site collections
- webs
- lists
- folders
- list items (including files/documents)"

Content is exported using the Content Migration API as a .cmp file"



3rd Party Tools

Context: Many

AvePoint's DocAve, Metalogix's Content Matrix, Kalmstrom's SP Archive, and others, are powerful tools and enable doing a lot of the above things without any code, but they are often expensive and they are not always suitable for every task, specially smaller operations.




Sources

Difference between STSADM Export and Backup,
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/yvan_duhamel/archive/2009/05/18/some-key-differences-between-stsadm-export-and-backup-operations.aspx

http://sharepoint.stackexchange.com/questions/62152/sharepoint-2010-what-is-the-difference-between-backing-up-a-site-collection-and/62156#62156


Content Deployment Wizard,
http://spdeploymentwizard.codeplex.com/


Moving list items between folders,
http://sharepointstruggle.blogspot.se/2010/07/sharepoint-vs-powershell-moving-list.html


SPFile.CopyTo VS RootFolder.Files.Add
http://sharepoint.stackexchange.com/questions/78426/spfile-copyto-vs-rootfolder-files-add


How can you move a document with its version history to a new library?
http://sharepoint.stackexchange.com/questions/1278/how-can-you-move-a-document-with-its-version-history-to-a-new-library/1507#1507

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