Backup devices

SQL Server utilizes a structure called a backup device to manage backups. These are logical names that point to a physical file on yoru system. The backup devices allowed by SQL Server are tape, disk, and pipe.

A tape device must be physically attached to the SQL Server. Backing up to remote tape devices is not supported. However, you can have multiple tape devices attached to a single SQL Server.

Disk devices will store the backups on a physical disk. This can be detachable media such as a Zip or Jaz drive, but in many cases it is simply a hard drive or disk array. Network backups to disk are supported. To enable this, you simply specify the UNC name of the resource that you want to utilize for the backup. Keep in mind that the account that SQL Server runs under will need NT permissions to that resource. If you are going to being backing up to disk in this manner, you must be running SQL Server under a specific domain account. A local NT account or the local system account will not allow you to backup to a remote disk device.

The pipe device is used by third party backup products to provide a stable and fast method for backing up the databases.

The backup devices that you define are logical names used within SQL Server. They are nothing more than a pointer to a file where SQL Server will place the backup. In fact, the particular path or device does not even have to exist at the time the dump device is created. It does need to exist when the backup operation starts or an error message will be generated.

You create a backup device by executing the sp_addumpdevice system stored procedure.

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