First, let me apologize, I am in no way a Sharepoint expert - I barely know enough to be dangerous. We have a very small deployment of Sharepoint 3.0, whose backend is on a SQL 2005 database. The SQL server and the Sharepoint server are due to be decomissioned - I have everything off of those servers except the sharepoint site and databases. At some point, we will look at upgrading to a newer sharepoint, or perhaps (hopefully) find a cloud Sharepoint provider. However, it will be months before we have the resources to do this. I don't want to keep these servers running just for this, but I don't want to lose the sites, etc. Looking at the SQL, I have three Sharepoint databases. Is ALL the information shared in these databases? Can I just get good backups of these databases and be able to recreate this in an upgrade on a newer server, or, would a cloud Sharepoint provider be able to take these three databases and set everything up? Is there anything on the actual IIS sharepoint server that needs to be saved? Many thanks for any information you folks can provide.

Firstly we need to know what you mean by SharePoint 3.0 as that is the wrong name. Right are WSS 3.0 or MOSS 2007 (which is also a ver 3.0 product just not called so). This is not just a stupid question as backup/restore for WSS 3.0 is much more straightforward. Secondly the "newer" SharePoint you may be upgrading to must be a product not covered by this forum as this pre-SP 2010 forum stops at the 3.0 / 2007 SharePoint products. So questions on upgrading to a newer SP need to be asked elsewhere - in the case of the newer product being SP 2010 in a SP 2010 forum. Similarly with a cloud supplier. If that cloud supplier is Microsoft then ask in the SharePoint On-Line forum. If not then ask the cloud supplier what method they allow for moving your existing 3.0/2007 system. Moving from one 3.0 / 2007 system to another (all that is covered in this forum) would mostly be done by specifying the existing content database when installing the new system. Backup/Restore typically has the problem that you need the exact same system (same product; same SPs; same fixes) on both the old and the new system. It's therefore a good choice for (well) Backup/Restore to the same system but not brilliant for moving. There's a (very basic) start for you. SP 2010 "FAQ" (mainly useful links): http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx WSS3/MOSS FAQ (FAQ and Links) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx Both also have links to extensive book lists and to (free) on-line chapters

It is WSS 3.0. So, if I have a good backup of all three databases (one of which is the content, not sure what the other two are), I would be able to recreate what we have on another WSS 3.0 system if needs be? I'll ask the upgrade question on another forum. What is the name of the free Sharepoint product now on Win 2008 R2?

WSS 3.0 is the simplest. Typically you should have two databases only with a WSS 3.0 installation - the configuration database and the content database. The content database is what you need, the installation of a fresh WSS 3.0 copy will create a new config database. (The newer free version is called SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SPF 2010). The SP 2010 forums are here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sharepoint2010 for an upgrade question from WSS 3.0 you will need the Setup, Upgrade etc. forum there.) SP 2010 "FAQ" (mainly useful links): http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx WSS3/MOSS FAQ (FAQ and Links) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx Both also have links to extensive book lists and to (free) on-line chapters

Hi, I suggest you to take full backup of all related databases. Other than that I would suggest you totake backup of 12 hive and virtual directories also. This will be very helpful if during the upgrade you encounter any error and want to revert back. I hope this will help you out. Thanks, Rahul Rashu