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SqlBak Blog

Ivan Gusev

SQL Server differential backup: fast guide

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One of the types of backup in MSSQL is the “differential” backup. This article will cover what differential backups are, how to create and restore them, as well as their specific features and best practices. What is differential backup in SQL Server? Differential backups are backups that do not contain all the data but only the … Read more

Third party backup tools for SQL Server

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In this article, we will review software designed for backing up SQL Server. Each tool has its own features and can be useful depending on the size of your architecture, availability of qualified specialists, financial resources and other factors. Free tools SQL Server Management Studio + SQL Server Agent The main tool for working with … Read more

Automating MSSQL backup tasks: how to schedule SQL server backups

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Scheduling SQL Server backups can be done in various ways, including using SQL Server Agent, PowerShell, third-party tools or through scripts with Windows Scheduler. This article will explore different methods for scheduling MSSQL backups in more detail, as well as best practices for timing and frequency of scheduled backups. Tools for automating backups Scheduled automatic … Read more

To backup or not to backup: SQL Server’s master, msdb and model

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In addition to the user databases that a SQL Server administrator can create, there are also system databases. The primary ones visible in Object Explorer are master, msdb, model and tempdb. All these databases, except for tempdb, support backup operations. In this article, we’ll discuss whether these databases need to be backed up, and if … Read more

Complete guide to restoring SQL databases from BAK files in SQL Server

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Restoring SQL Server databases from backup files is an important task for database administrators. In this article, we will discuss what backup files are and how to load a BAK file into SQL Server.

What are BAK files in SQL Server?

BAK files are files created by SQL Server, with the file extension .bak, that contain one or more backups of SQL Server databases. They are designed to restore databases to the state they were in at the time the backup was created.

These files are a physical copy of the data from the database files (.mdf и .ldf) and are not intended to be viewed directly in a text editor.

Importing a BAK file in SQL Server involves restoring a database. You can restore databases from these files using T-SQL commands, graphical utilities such as SQL Server Management Studio or SQLBackupAndFTP, as well as from the command line.

There are several graphical user interface tools available.

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Integrating SqlBak with Zabbix: monitoring and backup execution

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SqlBak has an API that allows it to integrate with other applications and services. This article explains how to integrate SqlBak and Zabbix. Sending job results to Zabbix 1. Export the template to Zabbix. It contains items for job results (status, date, backup type). Create a JSON file with the following content: { “zabbix_export”: { … Read more

SQL Server backup encryption: why and how?

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This article will address the issue of backup encryption, why it is important, and the various approaches available. Why encrypt backups? Application-level encryption and “always encrypted” Simple backup encryption (7zip) SQL Server backup encryption Creating a certificate IMPORTANT: certificate backup Creating a backup with built-in encryption in SQL Server Restoring an encrypted SQL Server backup … Read more

SQL Server backup monitoring guide

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In this article, various methods of monitoring backups and restores of SQL Server databases will be discussed, including tracking current progress and history. Tracking the status of your initiated backup If you initiate a backup yourself, you can instruct SQL Server to log the progress status by adding the WITH STATS parameter to the BACKUP … Read more

Simple SQL server backup guide for Linux

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This simple guide will help you create backups of SQL Server on Linux.

SQL Server backups on Windows and Linux: what’s the difference?

The only noticeable difference is in the graphical tools.

SSMS is the main tool for SQL Server and is only available on Windows. Connecting from Windows to SQL Server on Linux is not always possible due to port security (1433). You will have to use the command line utility sqlcmd and T-SQL commands.

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