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Using Backup-DbaDatabase for a Quick Backup

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I really like the dbatools project. This is a series of PowerShell cmdlets that are built by the community and incredibly useful for migrations between SQL Servers, but also for various administrative actions. I have a short series on these items.

One of the core tasks of a DBA is backing up a database. In fact, I’d argue that it’s the most important thing for a DBA to know. Second would be restores.

I’ve used the BACKUP DATABASE command so often from T-SQL that it’s a quick way for me to just get a backup of a database. I almost always have SSMS running, so I can easily just run the backup.

For regular backups there are some great tools out there, SQL Backup Pro from Redgate, Minion Backup, Ola Hallengren’s scripts, and more. However, there still might be a time I want to make a few backups, perhaps copy them over, and that’s where I think dbatools and Backup-DbaDatabase might help.

This is a nice, easy cmdlet to use. You can probably guess how to use it. Give it an instance, a database (or few), include a path, maybe create folders for each database, and let it go.

That’s about it.

If I run this interactively, I’d get the progress bar:

2017-10-02 17_04_29-{15%} cmd - powershell (Admin)

When the command is done, I see the results from each database. I get the file, folder, full path, and the script used.

2017-10-02 17_04_36-cmd - powershell (Admin)

I could include a different path if I wanted, and certainly I can chain this along with other PoSh commands.

I don’t know that I’d use this often, but it is handy in places, and certainly if I want to script the movement of some files, perhaps for something like HA/DR testing or setup, or even to refresh other environments.

Filed under: Blog Tagged: backup, dbatools, powershell, syndicated

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