SQL Server Backup

Breeze can discover, back up, and restore SQL Server databases directly — no third-party SQL backup tool required. The agent connects as its own Windows service identity and runs native sqlcmd commands to produce standard .bak and .trn backup files; the sqlcmd shipped with SQL Server 2022 and 2025 is supported.

Windows Authentication only

Breeze always connects locally over Windows Authentication, as the agent’s service identity (LocalSystem) — there is no SQL Authentication option. Instances configured for SQL-Authentication-only logins are not supported. Grant the service identity sysadmin, or the combination of db_backupoperator + dbcreator + VIEW SERVER STATE, so it can back up and restore databases.

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Discovering Instances

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

Caution

Discovery is not automatic. A profile protects every database on a discovered instance, but only against the discovered inventory — scheduled runs don’t rescan the instance themselves. Run Discover Instances again after creating a new database, or it won’t be backed up until you do. There’s also no per-database pick-list: a profile protects everything minus whatever you exclude.

Each instance shows:

• Instance name, version, and edition
• Authentication type and port — informational only; Breeze always connects locally over Windows Authentication regardless of what’s shown here
• 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:

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)

No chain orchestration

Breeze doesn’t track an LSN chain or offer a point-in-time picker. Each restore is a single RESTORE DATABASE ... FROM DISK against one backup file — there’s no automatic full → differential → log replay. To reconstruct a specific point in time, restore the full backup WITH NORECOVERY, then apply the differential/log backups in order yourself (outside Breeze), finishing the last one WITH RECOVERY.

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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. Optionally select a storage configuration for cloud upload.
5. Confirm to start the backup.

There’s no field to choose the output path. Breeze runs BACKUP DATABASE ... TO DISK into the instance’s default backup directory, under a breeze subfolder, then uploads the resulting .bak/.trn file and deletes the local copy — it doesn’t accumulate on the SQL Server host. Backups are compressed except on Express Edition, which doesn’t support backup compression.

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 against the discovered inventory — see the discovery note above. Use exclude lists for databases that don’t need backup (e.g., tempdb).

Note

Scheduling a combination — weekly full + daily differential + frequent log — gives you the raw backups needed to reconstruct a point in time, but Breeze doesn’t chain them for you; see the caution in Backup Types above. 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
   • Backup to restore — pick one specific backup (full, differential, or log) from the list; there’s no point-in-time picker — each restore applies exactly one backup file
   • Target database — name of the database to restore into; it can differ from the source name
   • 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.

The restore runs in the background. Starting it queues the command on the device and returns straight away; Breeze does not wait for SQL Server to finish, which on a large database can take hours. Follow its progress and final result like any other restore job — see Monitoring a Restore. Before v0.117.0 a SQL Server restore that ran longer than 10 minutes was reported as failed even though the agent was still working.

Caution

Restoring a database overwrites the target database if it already exists (WITH REPLACE). Restoring under a different name while the source database is still attached is not supported today — Breeze doesn’t relocate the backup’s data/log file paths (no MOVE clause), so the new database’s files would collide with the original’s. To restore a copy alongside the original, restore onto a different instance instead.

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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.