SQL Server Backup

Breeze can discover, back up, and restore SQL Server databases directly — no third-party SQL backup tool required. The agent runs native sqlcmd commands to produce standard .bak and .trn backup files.

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Discovering Instances

1. Go to Operations > Backup > SQL Server.
2. Click Discover Instances for a device to scan it for SQL Server installations.
3. Discovered instances appear in the list.

Each instance shows:

• Instance name, version, and edition
• Authentication type and port
• Status (Online / Offline)

Expand an instance to see its databases, including:

• Database name and size
• Recovery model (Simple, Full, Bulk-logged)
• TDE (Transparent Data Encryption) status
• Compatibility level

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Backup Types

SQL Server supports three backup types that work together for point-in-time recovery:

Type	What it captures	File extension	Frequency
Full	Complete database	.bak	Weekly (typical)
Differential	Changes since last full backup	.bak	Daily (typical)
Transaction Log	Log entries since last log backup	.trn	Every 15–60 min (typical)

Breeze tracks the LSN (Log Sequence Number) chain across backups so you can restore to any point in time covered by the chain.

Backup Chain View

The SQL Server tab shows the backup chain for each database — a timeline of full, differential, and log backups color-coded by type. This helps you verify chain continuity and identify gaps.

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Running a Manual Backup

1. On the SQL Server tab, find the database you want to back up.
2. Click the Backup action.
3. Select the backup type: Full, Differential, or Log.
4. Specify the output path for the backup file.
5. Optionally select a storage configuration for cloud upload.
6. Confirm to start the backup.

Scheduled Backups

Create a backup policy with the MSSQL mode to automate SQL Server backups. Like Hyper-V, MSSQL mode uses all-by-default targeting — newly discovered databases are included automatically. Use exclude lists for databases that don’t need backup (e.g., tempdb).

Note

For full point-in-time recovery, schedule a combination: weekly full + daily differential + frequent log backups. The backup policy schedule controls the primary backup type; you may want separate policies for different backup frequencies.

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Restoring a Database

1. On the SQL Server tab, find the database and click Restore.
2. The restore dialog walks you through:
   • Source — select the instance and source database
   • Restore point — choose Latest (most recent backup) or Point-in-time (pick a specific date and time using the datetime picker)
   • Target database — name of the database to restore into (can be a new name to restore alongside the original)
   • No Recovery mode — optionally leave the database in a restoring state so you can apply additional log backups before bringing it online
3. Review and confirm.

Caution

Restoring a database overwrites the target database if it already exists. To preserve the original, restore into a differently-named database and verify before swapping.

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Security

All SQL Server backup and restore commands use strict input validation to prevent T-SQL injection. Instance names, database names, and file paths are validated against allowed patterns before being passed to sqlcmd.