SQL Backup Master Help

The vast majority of temporary backup folder problems are the result of incorrect permissions.

 

The temporary backup folder is a critical part of how SQL Backup Master functions. It must be fully accessible to the Windows user account under which your backup job runs (even if you don't explicitly define one in your backup job settings). The temporary backup folder must also be writable by SQL Server.

 

Let's take a look at few common problem scenarios.

 

Cannot Open Backup Device

 

If you find this error in your SQL Backup Master job logs, it's usually an indication that SQL Server was unable to write a database backup file to your specified temporary backup folder.

 

If your backup job connects to a remote SQL Server instance, then this may indicate a configuration error. Carefully follow the guidance provided in the Remote backups section of this help file.

 

For all other scenarios, please see the Resolving Permissions Problems section below.

 

Temporary Backup Files Not Being Removed

 

The temporary backup folder should never accumulate temporary database backup files. It's the job of SQL Backup Master to remove them after they've been uploaded to your final backup destination(s).

 

If SQL Backup Master is unable to remove a temporary backup file, it will create an error entry in the backup job log.

 

See the Resolving Permissions Problems section below for further information.

 

Resolving Permissions Problems

 

You can resolve many issues by modifying Windows file system permissions for the temporary backup folder path. To confirm that the problem is permissions related, we recommend the following steps:

 

1.Manually remove any temp backup files currently present in the temporary backup folder.

2.Grant the "users" group "full control" over the temporary backup folder path.

3.Re-run the backup job, await its completion, and confirm that no temporary backup files have accumulated.

 

Once you've confirmed that the problem is related to file system permissions, you can further refine the folder permissions if you wish. To do so, open the associated backup job in SQL Backup Master and note the "Run as" field (which is part of the job description). This Windows account needs to have full control over the temporary backup folder location.

 

Avoid Mapped Network Drives

 

We recommend that you not use a mapped network drive (or any of its subfolders) as a temporary backup folder location. Doing so can result in errors because Windows associates mapped drive letters with the security principal that was used to create them.

 

Luckily, there's a simple alternative - use UNC paths to specify remote locations instead. For example, instead of using “Z:\DBBackups” (where Z is the mapped drive letter), specify a fully qualified UNC path such as “\\remote-server\DBBackups”.