SQL Server Backup and Restore - Simple Talk

Chapter 3: Full Database Backups
Figure 3-9: Comparing native SQL Server backup file sizes.
We will compare these metrics against the file sizes and speeds we get from backing up
the same files using Red Gate's SQL Backup in Chapter 8.
Native Backup Compression
In SQL Server 2008 and earlier versions, backup compression was a feature only available
in the Enterprise Edition (or Developer Edition) of SQL Server. However, starting with
SQL Server 2008 R2, backup compression has been made available in all editions, so let's
take a quick look at what savings it can offer over non-compressed backups, in terms of
backup file size and the speed of the backup operation. Generally speaking, third-party
backup tools still offer a better compression ratio, better speed and more options (such as
compressed and encrypted backups) than native backup compression. However, we'll put
that to the test in Chapter 8.
All we're going to do is perform a compressed backup of the DatabaseForFull-
Backups, using the script shown in Listing 3-10.
USE [master]
GO
BACKUP DATABASE [DatabaseForFullBackups]
TO DISK = N'C:\SQLBackups\Chapter3\SQLNativeCompressionTest.bak'
WITH COMPRESSION, STATS = 10
GO
Listing 3-10: SQL native compression backup test.
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