SQL Server Database BackUp using C#

There are various ways to take the SQL Server database backup. You can take the database backup using SQL Server backup wizard or using SQL Server BackUp Database statement. Here I am going to describe how to take the SQL Server database backup programatically using C# and SQL Server Management Objects (SMO).

In my previous posts, I explained Partial Methods,Contextual Keyword, C# Static Methods and some other articles related to C#, ASP.Net and SQL Server .

SQL Server Management Objects (SMO) is a collection of objects that are designed for programming all aspects of managing Microsoft SQL Server.


For taking the database backup using  C#, you have to add the following references in your application-

Microsoft.SqlServer.ConnectionInfo
Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Sdk.Sfc
Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo
Microsoft.SqlServer.SmoExtended
Microsoft.SqlServer.SqlEnum

In your .CS file you will have to use the following namespaces-

using Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo;

using Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Common;

After using above namespaces, write the following code to take the database backup-

public void BackupDatabase(string databaseName, string userName, string password, string serverName, string destinationPath)

        {

            //Define a Backup object variable.

            Backup sqlBackup = new Backup();

            //Specify the type of backup, the description, the name, and the database to be backed up.

            sqlBackup.Action = BackupActionType.Database;

            sqlBackup.BackupSetDescription = "BackUp of:" + databaseName + "on" + DateTime.Now.ToShortDateString();

            sqlBackup.BackupSetName = "FullBackUp";

            sqlBackup.Database = databaseName;

            //Declare a BackupDeviceItem

            BackupDeviceItem deviceItem = new BackupDeviceItem(destinationPath + "FullBackUp.bak", DeviceType.File);

            //Define Server connection

            ServerConnection connection = new ServerConnection(serverName, userName, password);

            //To Avoid TimeOut Exception

            Server sqlServer = new Server(connection);

            sqlServer.ConnectionContext.StatementTimeout = 60 * 60;

            Database db = sqlServer.Databases[databaseName];

            sqlBackup.Initialize = true;

            sqlBackup.Checksum = true;

            sqlBackup.ContinueAfterError = true;

            //Add the device to the Backup object.

            sqlBackup.Devices.Add(deviceItem);

            //Set the Incremental property to False to specify that this is a full database backup.

            sqlBackup.Incremental = false;

            sqlBackup.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(3);

            //Specify that the log must be truncated after the backup is complete.

            sqlBackup.LogTruncation = BackupTruncateLogType.Truncate;

            sqlBackup.FormatMedia = false;

            //Run SqlBackup to perform the full database backup on the instance of SQL Server.

            sqlBackup.SqlBackup(sqlServer);

            //Remove the backup device from the Backup object.

            sqlBackup.Devices.Remove(deviceItem);