This tutorial will guide you through the process of backing up data from aan on-premise application that runs on a server, whether it's located in a law firm’s network or a third-party data center.
While we will demonstrate the backup process using ProLaw as an example, the steps are nearly identical for every on-premise application.

Before You Start

Required Information

Before starting this process, you should ensure you have the following:

• A migration workstation that is on the same physical network as the server.
  
• The administrator username and password to the relevant server(s)
  • Many apps have a database server and a file server.
  • You should have the administrator login to both.
  • The firm should NOT create a secondary administrator account for you.
    Reason:  Secondary admins often have less permissions than the primary admin.
• An administrator login into the application
  This should be a login into the application itself.  For example, a ProLaw or Time Matters username.
  Reason:  This is necessary in order cross-check data between the old app and the new one.
• The cell phone number of your primary point of contact within the firm.
  Reason:  This will allow you reach out if an after-hours issue occurs.
• The cell phone number of the primary technical contact for the firm.
  Reason:  This will allow you reach out if an after-hours issue occurs.
• All this information should be documented in your playbook.

Verify Required Information

Once you have gathered the necessary credentials and contact details, you should verify that all usernames and passwords work correctly. Additionally, perform test calls to the provided phone numbers to ensure that everyone can whitelist any relevant phone numbers for smooth communication. 

Backup the Raw (Original) Database

Never Work from a Live Database

• This ensures that you are working from a known point-in-time snapshot of the database. 
• This protects you from accidentally editing a live database.
• This protects you from overloading the server as backing-up data is resource intensive.
• This protects the reliability of the migration as backing-up data from across a network may be interrupted if the remote server undergoes any kind of maintenance such as a reboot or momentary blip in network connectivity.
  

Launch the Backup Utility

In Universal Migrator, click the Backup button.

Next, choose the system you want to back up data from. In this case, I will select ProLaw.
You can use the search box to quickly find the system you're looking for.

Create a database to hold the backed-up data

On this screen, you can name the cached database.
The default name typically includes today’s date, time, and the system being backed up.
Universal Migrator recommends leaving the default name and appending a tag that indicates which client the backup is for.
For example, I will append TestFirm.com.

Select the database you restored from the firm’s server. In this case, it is the ProLaw database.. Then I’ll click Next.
It will take a few moments as the database is being created for you.

Initiate the Backup

This screen is customized for each platform and shows everything that Universal Migrator can back up.
When backing up data from an on-premise application, it is generally recommended to back up all data, ensuring you have a complete backup of everything.
Now I am ready to initiate the backup by clicking Next.

Universal Migrator will back up the data as quickly as your hardware allows. During the process, the system reads data from the legacy database and saves a copy to the specified database. Whether it takes minutes or hours, your job is done.  Universal Migrator will handle backing up all the data you requested.