Creating a Microsoft SQL Server Backup Job

In the web interface, SQL Server backups are defined in the Job Manager section. In the desktop interface, block backups are implemented through a backup wizard.

Web interface

1. In the main web interface view, go to Job Manager in the sidebar. Then select the New Backup Job button in the upper right corner.

1. Specify the Job Name (this field may contain up to 16 characters). Add an optional, brief description (this field may contain up to 48 characters).

1. Select Job Type – Block and the Job Folder to store the job in. By default, all jobs are stored in the SS_DEFAULT folder.

2. Click Add Source in the SOURCES pane to specify which volumes you want to back up. DPX detects SQL Server installations through registry settings and the VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) framework. You will see a separate virtual object for every SQL Server database, indicating that DPX can perform application-consistent backups. Select your SQL Server and click Select.

Attention! When backing up an SQL object with DPX, all local volumes referenced by the SQL object will also be included in the backup. This may result in a larger backup size than initially anticipated.

Tip. You may view your current selection at any moment, using the Selected Items button next to the search field.

1. Click Set Destination in the DESTINATION pane to choose the destination for the backup.

1. You can also add a schedule in the SCHEDULES pane for the backup to be run regularly.

See also. For more details on scheduling options, Scheduling a Block Backup Job.

1. If you want to add an Archive to your backup job, click Add Archive in the ARCHIVE pane.

Destination

Select the Archive destination.

See also. For more details on archiving options, see Devices and Media.

Options

Mark Original Offsite

Determines whether a backup tape is stored offsite. DPX adds the Offsite status to the tape.

Toggle on	Indicates in the Catalog that the tape is stored offsite.
Toggle off	Indicates in the Catalog that the tape is stored onsite.

Append Offsite

Determines if a backup tape with status Offsite can be appended to.

Toggle on	Tapes in the library with status Offsite can be appended to. The Append Offsite field in the Edit Media Pool dialog must also be set to Yes.
Toggle off	Tapes in the library with status Offsite cannot be appended to.

The Offsite status of a tape can be viewed through the Operate Tape Library function, the Configure Media function, or in the media volume report. Note that when you use the Operate Tape Library function to import a tape with status Offsite, the Offsite status is cleared and the tape becomes available for use.

Max Devices (Devices)

Limits the number of storage devices valid for use with this job. Use this option if you want to stop DPX from using all the drives in the selected device cluster so that some drives will be available for other purposes.

The Alternate Secondary toggle

This is an alternate location where backup data resides. This alternate location could be a replica of the original data using NetApp SnapMirror, copied through Data ONTAP commands, or restored from a tape backup. Data can be restored from an alternate secondary data source directly from the management console.

If the toggle is on, two additional drop-down selection fields are shown, requiring to specify the Alternate Secondary Node and Volume.

Schedule

Add schedules for Base, Incremental, and Differential Archive backups according to your requirements.

Click Add to save the current schedule.

Multiple schedules may be added using the Add Another Schedule button which will be displayed upon adding the first schedule.

1. Specify Advanced Options. There are 2 SQL Server-specific options:

Microsoft SQL DB Consistency Check toggle

Tells DPX to run a consistency check on SQL Server before backing up a SQL Server database. The check runs three utilities that Microsoft recommends before a backup: DBCC CHECKDB, DBCC CHECKALLOC, and DBCC CHECKCATALOG.

Toggle on	Performs the consistency check.
Toggle off	Default option. Does not perform the consistency check.

Microsoft SQL Backup and Truncate Transaction Logs toggle

This option controls the truncation of SQL Server Transaction Logs during a Block backup.

Attention! If you want to perform Point-in-Time restore, make sure to disable this option.

Toggle on	SQL Server transaction logs are truncated on the source database server after the backup completes. To find the backed up SQL logs, refer to the message “BACKUP LOG <database-instance> TO DISK...” in the Job Log or to Event 18265 in the Application Event Log.
Toggle off	SQL Server transaction logs are not truncated and will therefore continue to grow on the source database server. To truncate translation logs, run SQL Server maintenance on the source machine.

See also. To learn more about other available options, see Job Options for Block Backup.

1. Click Save.

2. Enter the retention period and choose whether to run the job immediately. Your job will be now available in the Job Manager section.

Desktop interface

1. Go to the Backup tab.

2. From the Backup Modes section in the side panel, choose Block.

3. In the Job Tasks section of the task panel, find and click Block Backup Wizard.

1. The Block Backup Wizard window will appear:

1. By default, the creator allows you to select from the drop-down list and edit an already existing job. If you want to create a new block backup job, click the New Job button in the lower right corner.

2. In the Select Source screen, choose the SQL Server databases you want to include in the backup. Click Next.

1. In the Select Destination screen, choose the destination for the backup job. Click Next.

1. In the Job Options screen, define the job options for the backup job. There are 2 SQL Server-specific options available in the Application tab:

Microsoft SQL DB Consistency Check toggle

Tells DPX to run a consistency check on SQL Server before backing up a SQL Server database. The check runs three utilities that Microsoft recommends before a backup: DBCC CHECKDB, DBCC CHECKALLOC, and DBCC CHECKCATALOG.

Yes	Performs the consistency check.
No	Default option. Does not perform the consistency check.

Microsoft SQL Backup and Truncate Transaction Logs toggle

This option controls the truncation of SQL Server Transaction Logs during a Block backup.

Attention! If you want to perform Point-in-Time restore, make sure to disable this option.

Yes	SQL Server transaction logs are truncated on the source database server after the backup is completed. To find the backed-up SQL logs, refer to the message “BACKUP LOG <database-instance> TO DISK...” in the Job Log or to Event 18265 in the Application Event Log.
No	SQL Server transaction logs are not truncated and will therefore continue to grow on the source database server. To truncate translation logs, run SQL Server maintenance on the source machine.

See also. For more information about block backup job options, see Job Options for Block Backup.

1. In the final Save screen, you must enter the Job Name (max. 16 characters) and specify the Job Folder to store the job in (the default folder is SS_DEFAULT). You may also add a comment to the job definition or set up a schedule (See Scheduling a Block Backup Job).

1. Click Finish. The Final Job Run Settings dialog box will appear. You may choose to run the job immediately or save it without running. You may also change the retention period (default: 90 days).

Note. If you select Cancel, the job will be saved anyway, it will not be run and the retention period will remain 90 days.