Backing Up Data

It is extremely important to back up your full database regularly. In addition, Eyefinity recommends that you create a transaction log backup job to run every hour so that you can recover your database up to a specific point in time.

To back up your data, perform the following tasks in SSMS.

For detailed instructions on performing these tasks, see the documentation for your version of Microsoft SQL Server and SSMS.

For more information on backing up your data, see Backing Up & Restoring Data.

  1. Create a backup maintenance plan.

    Eyefinity recommends creating the following maintenance tasks:

    • Full database backup (run daily)
    • Transaction log backup (run hourly)

    If one-hour transaction logs grow too large, schedule more frequent transaction log backups to keep the log size manageable.

    Follow these guidelines:

    • Create separate schedules for each task.
    • Back up all user databases.
    • Create a backup file for each user database.
    • Use a backup drive separate from your other drives and with adequate space available for your backup files. See Managing Data and Log Files.
    • Configure the plan to verify the integrity of each backup.
  2. Create a transaction log cleanup task.

    Follow these guidelines:

    • Configure the task to delete .trn files.
    • Include first-level subfolders.
    • Delete files older than three days at task run time.
    • If you use differential database backups, configure the task to run at the completion of a backup.
    • If you revert from a full backup to a differential backup, apply the transaction logs from the time period between the last full backup and the next differential backup. You should have enough transaction log backups between your full and differential backups to support point-in-time recovery.
  3. Test your backup maintenance plan.

    Follow these guidelines:

    • Wait a few days to see whether your backups run successfully, or use SSMS to force your backups to run now.
    • Verify that your .bak files are removed after they expire.
    • Verify that the transaction logs are cleaned up after three days.
  4. Troubleshoot errors.

    Follow these guidelines:

    • If errors occur during testing, use SSMS to troubleshoot the problems.
    • After resolving an error, retest your backup plan.