Backup Settings

This topic describes the wizard page for specifying the locations and file names for your backups, and for managing existing backup files. You can also set options for optimizing the backup process on this page.

Backup location

To change the path and file name, type the new file name, or click and specify the file using the file browser. You can use tags in the path and file name, if required.

For information about how to specify file names on remote servers, see Specifying File Paths. Note that if you specify a network share as the backup file location, the SQL Backup Manager Service 'log on' user must have Full permissions to access the location.

File management

SQL Backup Manager provides a number of settings to automate the management of your existing backup files.

Select the Overwrite existing backup files of the same name check box if you want to overwrite any files that exist with the path name you specified for the backup file or files. Note that if a file of the same name exists already and you have not chosen to overwrite it, the backup will fail.

Select the Delete existing backup files in this folder for the selected database check box if you want SQL Backup Manager to delete backups of the selected databases that exist in the destination backup folders. In All files older than, type or select the age (in days or hours) of the files that you want to delete.

By default, the files are deleted when the backup process has completed. If the backup fails, the files are not deleted. To delete the files before the backup is created, select the Delete files prior to start of backup check box. For example, you may want to do this to create space for the new backup files. However, note that if the backup fails, the old files will have been deleted; you are therefore recommended to select this check box only if you have a copy of the existing backups.

On completion

Select the Verify backup files check box if you want SQL Backup Manager to run a verification of the backup files when they have been created. When the backup process completes, the results of the verification are displayed in the Activity History. They are also saved in the SQL Backup Manager completion log file.

If you want to receive an email with a copy of the completion log, select the Send email notification check box, and enter the email address. This option is available only if you have entered your email settings. For more information about setting up email notification, see Email Notification Options.

To send the log to multiple email addresses, type each address separated with a semi-colon (;). For example:
address1@mail.com;address2@mail.com

If you want to receive an email only if an error occurs during the backup process, select Send on failure only.

If you want a copy of the backup files to be created on a network share when the backup has completed, select the Copy backup backup to folder check box, and then type the network share details in the box.

The 'log on' user for the SQL Backup Manager Service on the source SQL Server must have permissions to create files on the network share. If it does not have the appropriate permissions, a warning is displayed in the Activity History when the backup has completed.