Using Backup Media

The topics in this section describe the format that Microsoft SQL Server uses for backup media, the correspondence between backup media and backup devices, and the organization of backups on backup media.

In This Section

Topic Description

Media Sets, Media Families, and Backup Sets

Introduces the basic backup-media terminology of SQL Server backup and restore and is intended for readers who are new to SQL Server.

Using Media Sets and Families

Discusses several considerations for media sets and media families.

Creating a New Media Set

Describes initializing or formatting backup media before you use it for the first time or replace an old media set with a new media set.

Backing Up to an Existing Media Set

Discusses how to overwrite old backup sets in a media set and how to append new backup sets to a media set.

See Also

Concepts

Backup Devices
Security Considerations for Backup and Restore

Other Resources

BACKUP (Transact-SQL)
RESTORE (Transact-SQL)
RESTORE REWINDONLY (Transact-SQL)

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance