# Part Two: Derby Administration Guide

This section of the guide is divided into several administrative tasks.

- Maintaining database integrity
  One of the most important responsibilities of a database administrator is to maintain the integrity of the database and prevent it from becoming corrupted.
- Checking database consistency
  After you perform a backup, or if you experience hardware or operating system failure, you can use the SYSCS_UTIL.SYSCS_CHECK_TABLE system function to verify that the database is still consistent.
- Backing up and restoring databases
  Derby provides a way to back up a database while it is either offline or online. You can also restore a full backup from a specified location.
- Importing and exporting data
  You can import and export large amounts of data between files and the Derby database. Instead of having to use INSERT and SELECT statements, you can use Derby system procedures to import data directly from files into tables and to export data from tables into files.
- Replicating databases
  Replication is an important feature of a robust database management system. In Derby, you start database replication by using connection URL attributes.
- Logging on a separate device
  You can improve the performance of update-intensive, large databases by putting a database's log on a separate device, which reduces I/O contention.
- Obtaining locking information
  Derby provides a tool to monitor and display locking information.
- Reclaiming unused space
  A Derby table or index (sometimes called a conglomerate) can contain unused space after large amounts of data have been deleted or updated.