Making SQL Backups using a Maintenance Plan within SQL

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Making SQL Backups using a Maintenance Plan within SQL

You can have a way to backup all your databases by creating a Maintenance Plan within your Full Version of SQL server. This will save you time and give you another way to make a backup when preparing to do upgrades on your software.

1. Login to SQL, and expand the "Management" folder.
2. Right click on the "Maintenance Plans" folder and choose "Maintenance Plan Wizard."
3. Choose "Next" on the "Welcome" screen.
4. On the "Select Plan Properties" screen, you will be able to choose a name for your Maintenance Plan.
5. The next screen will give you several options to choose from for this. You will check the box for "Backup Database (Full)".
6. The next screen shows what tasks you have chosen and gives you an opportunity to move them up or down for priority.
7. On the next screen, at the top, you choose the databases you want to backup from the drop down. Here you can mark "All Databases" and it will backup all your databases listed in the window or you can choose the ones you want to use.
8. Also, on this window you want to pick a place to put the backups. Under "Create a backup file for every database," you will see an ellipses button and can browse out to the location you want to place these backups.
9. After you have made your selections, go to the next screen.
10. This is the "Select Report Options" screen. Here, you can write a report to a specified folder location.
11. The next screen is a summary screen that shows your current tasks for you to review.
12. When you click finish, SQL will build this Maintenance Plan, and you are ready now to make your backup.
13. All you have to do is locate the plan you created under the "Maintenance Plans" folder in SQL, right click on it and choose "Execute."
14. When you go to the folder you specified, you should see the backups that were created.

Tom Gibas
IntelliPoint Technologies

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