103 SQL BACKUP DATABASE

#Edu #SQL

The current webpage explains the SQL BACKUP DATABASE statement, which is used in SQL Server to create backups of an entire database.

Key points:

BACKUP DATABASE statement:
- Used to perform a full backup of an existing SQL database.
- Basic syntax:
```
BACKUP DATABASE databasename TO DISK = 'filepath';
```
Differential backup:
- Only backs up changes made since the last full backup.
- Syntax:
```
BACKUP DATABASE databasename TO DISK = 'filepath' WITH DIFFERENTIAL;
```
Examples are provided, such as creating a full backup of testDB to a specified disk location.
Tip: Always back up your database to a different drive than the actual database to prevent data loss in case of disk failure.
The page also includes a simple exercise on identifying the correct SQL statement for backing up a database and notes that differential backups are faster since they only include changed data.

This is a practical resource for those learning SQL Server database backup operations, including both full and differential backup commands and best practices.[1]

The SQL BACKUP DATABASE Statement

The BACKUP DATABASE statement is used in SQL Server to create a full back up of an existing SQL database.

Syntax

BACKUP DATABASE databasename
TO DISK = 'filepath';

The SQL BACKUP WITH DIFFERENTIAL Statement

A differential back up only backs up the parts of the database that have changed since the last full database backup.

Syntax

BACKUP DATABASE databasename
TO DISK = 'filepath'
WITH DIFFERENTIAL;

BACKUP DATABASE Example

The following SQL statement creates a full back up of the existing database "testDB" to the D disk:

BACKUP DATABASE testDB  
TO DISK = 'D:\backups\testDB.bak';

Tip: Always back up the database to a different drive than the actual database. Then, if you get a disk crash, you will not lose your backup file along with the database.

BACKUP WITH DIFFERENTIAL Example

The following SQL statement creates a differential back up of the database "testDB":

BACKUP DATABASE testDB  
TO DISK = 'D:\backups\testDB.bak'  
WITH DIFFERENTIAL;

Tip: A differential back up reduces the back up time (since only the changes are backed up).