The General tab of the SQL Safe Backup wizard allows you to specify the backup type, name, and description of the backup you are creating.
What types of backups can you choose?
SQL Safe supports the standard SQL Server database backup types:
- Full Backup.
- Differential Backup.
- Transaction Log Backup.
- File Backup.
What should you do for your initial backup?
If you are backing up the database for the first time, select Full Backup. A full backup will provide a comprehensive data set, and is required to perform differential backups or transaction log backups later on. For more information about backup types, understand backup types.
What to choose in the Format drop-down option?
By default, the SQL Safe format is displayed in this option. Backups created using the SQL Safe file format can only be restored by SQL Safe. The SQL Server format is the native SQL Server backup file format. Backups created using the SQL Server format can be restored using SQL Safe and native SQL Server tools.
When should you specify a description?
You should provide a description to identify important details about this operation so you can easily identify which backup sets should be restored later. The backup description will appear in the status view of past and current backups, and will allow you to more easily identify problems when they occur.
How do you verify the integrity of your backup?
You can choose to Verify Backup. When this option is selected, SQL Safe performs a data integrity check after the backup has been created. SQL Safe only verifies the integrity of the data files in the backup set created by this backup.
Verifying the backup helps identify potential issues that could occur when restoring these data files.
What is a copy-only backup?
A copy-only backup is a copy of the database, not a true backup, and cannot be used as a part of a restore strategy or restore chain. It is a backup that does not affect the log sequence numbers (LSN) of the database.
Once you choose your backup type, click NEXT to select the location of your backup files.