In this syntax, you specify the database name that you want to perform a full backup after the BACKUP DATABASE keywords and the path to the backup file in the TO DISK clause. TO DISK = path_to_backup_file Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) ( sql ) To perform a full backup, you use the BACKUP DATABASE statement with the following basic syntax: The second full backup contains the records with the id 1, 2, and 3.The first full backup contains the record with the id 1.In this picture, we have two full backups: The following picture illustrates full backups: Therefore, you should perform it at a time when the workload is low. In other words, you cannot restore a differential backup or a transaction log backup without a full backup.Ī full backup may cause a significant amount of disk I/O. To restore the database, you always need a full backup. A full backup doesn’t truncate the transaction log. Suppose we have a table in a database with four records: Full BackupĪ full backup contains a copy of the entire database including used data pages and the log files written during the backup. SQL Server database has the following backup types: SQL Server allows you to create a backup at a database level it doesn’t support table-level backup. You should back up both user databases and system databases (except the tempdb system database). The reason is that if the server is crashed, you will lose both data and its backup. Hence, you should never store the backup on the same server of SQL Server. Ideally, you should store the backup on a separate device that is not the same as the SQL Server. For example, you make a backup of a database on the production server and restore it on the test server. Typically, you back up a database to restore its original state just before a disaster such as:Īlso, you can use a backup to copy a database from one server to another. The first question will determine the backup types that you need and the second question involves the use of high availability solution. What is the accepted time for the database to be restored in case of a disaster?.What is the maximum amount of data loss measured in time that can be tolerated?.These are important questions that direct the recovery strategy: The planning of the backup strategy starts with a recovery strategy. It’s important that you have a good backup strategy to meet the business needs. Later, you can use the backup files to restore the database to its original state. When you back up a database, you copy it to a backup device such as a disk. What is a backupĪ backup is an image of that database at the time of the full backup.

Summary: in this tutorial, you’ll learn about various SQL Server backup types including full backup, differential backup, and transaction log backup.

Sql server backup database