The General tab of the SQL Safe Backup Policy Wizard allows you to specify the basic properties of the backup policy.
Why should you specify a name or description?
SQL Safe requires that you enter a unique name for each policy. Both the name and description will appear in the status messages for your policies. Using a meaningful name and description allows you to easily identify problems when they occur. For example, consider specifying a description that will help you later choose the correct backup to restore during a disaster recovery situation.
When supplying a name and/or description, do not end with the backslash ( \ ) character.
Which format should you choose to perform your backup?
Depending on the needs of the backup policy. The option to select between SQL Safe file format and native SQL Server file format is available. The Format option provides two options, "SQL Safe" and "SQL Server".
For native SQL Server file format select "SQL Server". For SQL Safe file format, which is compatible with InstantRestore, select "SQL Safe".
Which policy action should you choose?
Choose the action that best reflects how you want to use this policy. You can create a backup policy to monitor and manage your backup jobs or just monitor them. According to your requirements, you can select from one of the following options:
- Monitor and automatically create backup jobs using the SQL Server Agent
- Monitor and automatically create backup jobs using the SQL Safe Backup Agent
- Monitor only
The third option creates the policy only to monitor database backups and no jobs are created. By default, SQL Safe will monitor the status of any backup operation that meets the criteria of your policy.
Note that SQL Server Express does not support the SQL Server Agent. Use the second option if you add any instance with SQL Server Express in your policy. This option allows the SQL Safe Backup Agent (second option) to create your policy backup jobs.
If you choose to use the SQL Safe Backup Agent, policy data files will be stored by default at C:\Program Files\IDERA\SQL Safe\PolicyData. You can change these settings by going to the Administration tab, selecting the General Preferences option, and typing the preferred folder directory in the Policy Data tab.
Once you define some policy settings, click NEXT to select your databases.