Backups Archives - SqlBak Blog

Complete Guide to SQL Server Backup and Restore Using the Command Line

May 17, 2023March 17, 2023 by Ivan Gusev

Creating backups of a SQL Server database is one of the most critical aspects of maintaining a system. There are various tools available for creating backups, such as SQL Server Management Studio, SqlBak, and SQLBackupAndFTP. However, performing backups via the command line interface can provide even more flexibility and customization options.

PowerShell and batch scripts can be used to perform SQL Server backups via the command line interface. PowerShell scripts offer advanced functionality, while batch scripts are simpler and easier to use. Command line backups provide more flexibility and customization options than GUI-based tools.

This article provides an overview of the process involved in performing SQL Server backups via the command line interface and discusses the advantages of using PowerShell and batch scripts.

SqlBak Guide: Backup Compression

March 8, 2023 by Ivan Gusev

If a database that should be backed up via SqlBak is not particularly large, then there is no need to set compression options in a specific way. It is recommended to use the default values.

The features below are designed to fine-tune compression for highly loaded systems and large databases.

SqlBak Guide: Backup Encryption

March 5, 2023 by Ivan Gusev

If you specify a password in the “Encrypt compressed files” section, then the backup files will be encrypted.

SqlBak Best Practice Guide

March 7, 2023March 3, 2023 by Ivan Gusev

This guide contains recommendations for setting up a SqlBak backup job. This information has been developed and collected over years of interaction with SqlBak users. There will be no theory and formulas, only practical advice.

Note that these practices are not the only solutions. They are suitable in most cases, but can be fundamentally wrong under various circumstances.

Let’s consider the steps that are used to set up a backup job.

SqlBak Guide: Which databases should be chosen in a backup job?

February 27, 2023 by Ivan Gusev

In one database management system, there can be multiple databases. When creating a backup job, you can choose which databases specifically need to be backed up. The backup of each database will be made independently from the other databases and placed in a separate archive.

SqlBak Guide: Optimizing Backup Job Execution Time

March 6, 2023January 24, 2023 by Ivan Gusev

For large data volumes, backup job execution can take a lot of time. However, there are several tricks that can help optimize the time.

5 ways to reduce SQL Server backup size

February 23, 2022 by Ivan Gusev

SQL Server backup is a page-by-page physical copy of the database files. And, generally, the size of a backup is about the size of the database. However, there are several ways to cut the backup size substantially.

Reducing the backup size has the following benefits:

Export/Import SqlBak job in a JSON file

December 17, 2021September 14, 2021 by Ivan Gusev

Starting from SqlBak app version 3.2.9, you can export a job to a JSON file and then import it using the SqlBak.Job.Cli.exe utility. This functionality is needed primarily for automated deployment of the SqlBak application and backup jobs creation. A simple tutorial on how to do this is described in the following blog post: How to deploy SqlBak app automatically.

SqlBak.Job.Cli.exe reference manual

December 7, 2021September 1, 2021 by Ivan Gusev

The sqlbak.job.cli.exe utility is a programming interface for working with the SqlBak application. It is located in the root directory where the application is installed.

This tool can be used to register the application, manage connections to DBMS, and import jobs from JSON configurations.

How to deploy SqlBak app automatically

December 17, 2021August 25, 2021 by Omelchenko Alexander

When SqlBak is installed on a large number of servers, the deployment can be automated in 3 steps:

Download and install the SqlBak app
Connect the SqlBak app to sqlbak.com and to a DBMS
Add a backup job from a JSON file