The nice thing about using SQL backups is you can get fairly significant compression on the backup if available disk space isn't overly abundant for you. The SQL backups are also done while your ConfigMgr services are running so you don't have the temporary downtime like you do with the built-in maintenance task. With SQL backups you have to configure any success/fail alerts you want for the backups inside SQL, but it's not that difficult to set that up.
With the built-in site backup maintenance task is you get uncompressed copies of: Site database files: 1. SiteDBServer\<Sitedatabase>.mdf 2. SiteDBServer\<Sitedatabase>.ldf Site Server installed binaries and registry key: * SiteServer\SMSServer\data * SiteServer\SMSServer\inboxes * SiteServer\SMSServer\logs * SiteServer\SMSServer\srvacct * SiteServer\ConfigMgrAdminUISetup.log * SiteServer\SMSbkSiteRegSMS.dat * BackupDocument.xml (backup metadata) * ConfigMgrBackup.ini * Smsbkup.log You also get the out-of-box in-console alerts if the backup fails. The usefulness of many of these on a restore is debatable, and the task backing some of these files can be the cause of the backup not succeeding. With that said, from my experience most people prefer to do the SQL backup since it doesn't depend on the services successfully stopping, volume shadow copy service and associated SMSWRITER and SQLWRITER working perfectly, and if the site server is in the middle of distributing a very large package, you'll most likely find it has to start the transfer over again from the beginning after the backup finishes and services restart. On top of that you get the added benefit of consuming less disk space assuming you enable compression on the SQL backup. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Heaton, Joseph@Wildlife Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 8:06 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [mssms] Preferred method of backup At the moment: SCCM 2012 SP1 SQL 2008 R2 Is it preferred to use the Maintenance Task for the site to backup, or just a SQL backup of the site database itself, or both? Thanks, Joe Heaton Enterprise Server Support Information Technology Operations Branch Data and Technology Division CA Department of Fish and Wildlife 1700 9th Street, 3rd Floor Sacramento, CA 95811 Desk: (916) 323-1284
