The Synergetic database backup service is available for schools using Synergetic that are hosted on Tes Cloud. This gives you secure, read-only access to cloud hosted data for your school, to use for example with third-party reporting systems.
This guide describes how your System Administrator can back up your schools’ data from the Cloud while working with our Technical Pro Serv team.
How to create a data backup
| Steps | Instructions | Supporting information |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prerequisites | • Download: https://www.gpg4win.org/download.html • Install with default options • Verify installation – Open PowerShell and run: gpg --version | n/a |
| 2. Get the pre-signed URL | Include the x-api-key in the headers. For example, in Powershell: $headers = @{ "x-api-key" = "synergetic.code.super-secret-key" } $response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://db-backup.live.tesclouddb.tescloud.com/backup -Headers $headers -UseBasicParsing The response will look like: StatusCode : 200 StatusDescription : OK Content : {"presigned_url": "https://tesclouddb-backup-n... -s… RawContent : HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 06:30:02 GMT Connection: keep-alive x-amzn-RequestId: cdf78c8b-8411-4e2d-8030-71bae186b0c1 x-amz-apigw-id: CBygsFcwywMEXAA= X-Amzn-Trace-Id: Root=1-6a7d646a… Headers : {[Date, System.String[]], [Connection, System.String[]], [x-amzn-RequestId, System.String[]], [x-amz-apigw-id, System.String[]]…} Images : {} InputFields : {} Links : {} RawContentLength : 1518 RelationLink : {} | We will supply you with an x-api-key. Protect this key. It is what grants access to your backups. If you believe it has been compromised, please contact Tes support to help with next steps. |
| 3. Extract the pre-signed URL from the response | $presigned = $response.Content | ConvertFrom-Json $presignedUrl = $presigned.presigned_url $filename = Split-Path ($presignedUrl.Split('?')[0]) -Leaf | n/a |
| 4. Download the backup using the pre-signed URL | Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $presigned.presigned_url -OutFile "c:\path\to\$($filename)" Alternatively use the .NET Webclient (no UI). $wc = New-Object System.Net.WebClient $wc.DownloadFile($presigned.presigned_url, "c:\path\to\$($filename)") You can also use your browser to download the file directly. The URL can be obtained by running. | n/a |
| 5. Decrypt the file | Import the private key if required. gpg --import c:\path\to\private-key Enter the password when prompted. Then, decrypt the file. gpg --decrypt --output c:\path\to\database.bak c:\path\to\backup.gpg ⚠️ Note: The destination of the decrypted backup must be accessible by the SQL server. That is, the service account the SQL server is running under has modify access to the folder. | Tes will supply the GPG private key Protect this key. This allows the database backup to be decrypted. If you believe this has been compromised, contact Tes support. |
| 6. Restore the database to the test system | exec spSynRestoreDB @BackupFolder = 'c:\path\to\backup\folder', @RestoreIndividualDatabaseFromName = 'Synergetic_AUVIC_Customer_TST', @RestoreIndividualDatabaseToName = 'Synergetic_AUVIC_Customer_TST', @SetRecoveryModel = 'FULL' | n/a |
| 7. Update database authorisation | ALTER AUTHORIZATION ON DATABASE::Synergetic_AUVIC_CDA_71_RESTORE TO sa; | n/a |
| 8. Restore permissions for the ServerLogin account |
| n/a |
| 9. Enable the users who have direct database access (if required). | For each user run: GRANT CONNECT TO [databse_user];. If the user was not a contained user you will also need to run: ALTER LOGIN [login_name] ENABLE; | n/a |
| 10. Update the configuration files (if required) | If required, update the configuration files for each application and web service. | n/a |
| 11. Transparent data encryption (if required) | If required, restore the Transparent Database Encryption (TDE). | n/a |
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