Brad’s Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans- P44: SQL Server has a reputation as being a simple database application to install, configure, and maintain. This is a little misleading. SQL Server is a powerful relational database that can handle the needs of the largest organizations and, as such, its proper maintenance almost certainly requires the attention of an experienced DBA. | Chapter 17 Configuring Maintenance Tasks Using the Designer As you can see the names 1 have assigned to each instance make it clear exactly what each instance of the task is supposed to do. 1n addition note that 1 had to increase the width of each box in order to prevent the new names being truncated and so defeating the purpose of assigning more descriptive names. Next select the first task instance which in our example is intended to clean up old BAK files and bring up its configuration screen as shown in Figure . Figure The Maintenance Cleanup Task configuration screen. As you can see the Maintenance Cleanup Task configuration screen is one we have seen before in the Maintenance Plan Wizard so I ll refer you to Chapter 15 for details of all the options. The goal is simply to configure each of the three Maintenance Cleanup task instances one at a time so that the first one deletes older BAK files the second one deletes older TRN files and the third one deletes older report TXT files. When you re done you ll have a single plan that can perform all of the three required file cleanup operations. 216 Chapter 17 Configuring Maintenance Tasks Using the Designer Back Up Database Task Using the Maintenance Plan Wizard the process of backing up database files involved configuring up to three separate tasks Back Up Database Full - a backup of all the data in a given database see Chapter 12 Back Up Database Differential - a backup of any data that has changed since the last full backup see Chapter 13 Back Up Database Transaction Log - a backup of the transaction log file see Chapter 14 You won t find any of these three options in the Maintenance Plan Tasks Toolbox. Instead you will find a single backup task Back Up Database which you can use to perform full differential and transaction log backups. Figure shows the task box for the Backup Database task as dropped onto a design surface. Back Up Database Task Backup Database on Databases Select one or more .
