Are you using the stsadm tool for this? That has -o backup and -o
restore options that should work on different server  targets (I
haven't used them, so I'll let someone else bonk me over the head if
I'm wrong).

I have successfully done this just 2 days ago. I used the stsadm -o
backup command to run a backup of the url  that I wanted to "copy" to the
test server, then used stsadm -o restore  command to restore to the
target server  and it worked like a champ.

One should be careful if s/he is using custom webparts, solution packs and
dll's.

You will most probably get error during restore  process.

The solution? Don't have any idea

Did you do a restore  of the site  collection or the web  application?

If it was a site collection, was the destination of the new site collection
using a blank team site or you used the overwrite switch in the stsadm utility?

Restore is not designed to work side-by-side with the original source -
you'll need to restore  to a new farm  for your testing. As for custom
features, language packs, etc, they will need to be deployed in the new
farm prior to the restore.

It was a site  collection. What I did was create  a new web  application on
the destination server  but did not apply a template to the application.
I then used stsadm - o restore  to restore to the new destination.

I have also had to replace  an existing site collection. In this case, I
left the web application  in tact, but had to delete the site collection
before I could restore to the server.

To be more clear, a backup of a site  collection and the original can be on the
same web  app, they just can't be in the same content database. If you create  a
new content database and restore  the copy  there they seem to work fine. I agree
they weren't designed to be used that way, but it works.

Can I back  up an individual site  in a site collection?

You can back  up any url  that works on your SharePoint server. Just
use "stsadm -o backup -url <url>" from the command line.

You cannot. The only way to get the content of an individual site  is
using stsadm.exe -o export | import. This will not get the security
groups, but will include security when using the -includeusersecurity
option.

Is the process the same compared to SPS 2003?

I know in SPS 2003, you have to create  a site  without selecting a template so
that you have a URL and then do the restore.

Is this is the same for MOSS? If it is, then how do you obtain the URL without
selecting the template? Do you select the blank team site template?

Yes

Create a new site  with the blank template

Ensure original site does not exist in content database being restored to

So, I create  a new site....call it what I want, on a separate server, then
back up my content database and restore  it to the new site  I just created?

For a site  COLLECTION, you can copy  the content DB and attach in the new
farm, OR

Stsadm.exe -o backup -url http://webapp/sitecollection -filename
c:\backup.bak

Then on the 2nd farm,

Stsadm.exe -o restore  -url http://webapp2/sitecollection
<http://webapp2/sitecollection> -filename c:\backup.bak

For a SITE, you must use stsadm.exe -o export | import commands.

Does this work if the 'real' server  is running  from a full SQL server
and the test  box isn't?

I do not believe that the command is cognizant of the SQL instance being
used. That is pulled from config_db.

Yes..............................

I have successfully created  the back  up (Through central admin) I
backed up the entire web  application. I want to restore  it on a test
server that has Sharepoint installed and its own DB server  as well.
My question  is when I go to restore, what url  will the restore give
it from the back up? I don't want two apps trying to have the same
URL (my live  site, and my test  site) Does this make sense? I haven't
actually tried the restore process so I don't know if it will ask me
what my "test" url should be.

In my experience I've always been able to set the URL for my restores
on my test  server and that seems to work fine. The thing I've run into
is that, unless your test server  is a CLEAN server with no existing
sites, it's hit or miss whether or not the restore  will bring back  your
data. What I've seen happen is the restore completes successfully
right down to the content database being attached to the new site. But
there is no top level site  available for management. And I can't get
that top level site to reappear no matter what I do. The only time I
get a reliable restore is if the restore environment  is clean (i.e. No
existing top level sites).

So, from a mangement perspective, my test enviornment is always a VM (I
use vmware for that) with a snapshot of a pristine environment. This
way, when I need to restore, I always have a pristine environment to
restore to.

Generally speaking, it seems that that the cleaner your restore
evironment is, the more reliable the restore process.

I hope this helps in some small way.