BACKUP (Transact-SQL)

Specifies options to be used with a backup operation.

• DIFFERENTIAL
  Used only with BACKUP DATABASE, specifies that the database or file backup should consist only of the portions of the database or file changed since the last full backup. A differential backup usually takes up less space than a full backup. Use this option so that all individual log backups performed since the last full backup do not have to be applied.

  Note

  By default, BACKUP DATABASE creates a full backup.

  For more information, see Using Differential Backups.

Backup Set Options

These options operate on the backup set that is created by this backup operation.

• COPY_ONLY
  Specifies that the backup is a copy-only backup, which does not affect the normal sequence of backups. A copy-only backup is created independently of your regularly scheduled, conventional backups. A copy-only backup does not affect your overall backup and restore procedures for the database.

  Copy-only backups were introduced in SQL Server 2005 for use in situations in which a backup is taken for a special purpose, such as backing up the log before an online file restore. Typically, a copy-only log backup is used once and then deleted.

  • When used with BACKUP DATABASE, the COPY_ONLY option creates a full backup that cannot serve as a differential base. The differential bitmap is not updated, and differential backups behave as if the copy-only backup does not exist. Subsequent differential backups use the most recent conventional full backup as their base.

    Important

    If DIFFERENTIAL and COPY_ONLY are used together, COPY_ONLY is ignored, and a differential backup is created.

  • When used with BACKUP LOG, the COPY_ONLY option creates a copy-only log backup, which does not truncate the transaction log. The copy-only log backup has no effect on the log chain, and other log backups behave as if the copy-only backup does not exist.

  For more information, see Copy-Only Backups.

• { COMPRESSION | NO_COMPRESSION }
  Specifies whether backup compression is performed on this backup. Backup compression was introduced in SQL Server 2008 Enterprise. Beginning in SQL Server 2008 R2, backup compression is supported by SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard and all higher editions.

  At installation, the default behavior is no backup compression. But this default can be changed by setting the backup compression default server configuration option. For information about viewing the current value of this option, see How to: View Server Properties (SQL Server Management Studio).

  • COMPRESSION
    Explicitly enables backup compression.

  • NO_COMPRESSION
    Explicitly disables backup compression.

• DESCRIPTION = { 'text' | **@**text_variable }
  Specifies the free-form text describing the backup set. The string can have a maximum of 255 characters.

• NAME = { backup_set_name| **@**backup_set_var }
  Specifies the name of the backup set. Names can have a maximum of 128 characters. If NAME is not specified, it is blank.

• PASSWORD = { password | **@**password_variable }
  Sets the password for the backup set. PASSWORD is a character string.

  Important

  This feature will be removed in the next version of Microsoft SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work, and plan to modify applications that currently use this feature.

  If a password is defined for the backup set, the password must be supplied to perform any SQL Server restore operation from the backup set. A backup set password does not protect the backup file from being overwritten, however. To prevent a backup file from being overwritten, use a media-set password instead (see the MEDIAPASSWORD option later in this table). (For more information about using passwords, see "Permissions," later in this topic.)

  Security Note

  The protection provided by this password is weak. It is intended to prevent an incorrect restore using SQL Server tools by authorized or unauthorized users. It does not prevent the reading of the backup data by other means or the replacement of the password. The best practice for protecting backups is to store backup tapes in a secure location or back up to disk files that are protected by adequate access control lists (ACLs). The ACLs should be set on the directory root under which backups are created.

• { EXPIREDATE = 'date'| RETAINDAYS = days }
  Specifies when the backup set for this backup can be overwritten. If these options are both used, RETAINDAYS takes precedence over EXPIREDATE.

  If neither option is specified, the expiration date is determined by the mediaretention configuration setting. For more information, see Setting Server Configuration Options.

  Important

  These options only prevent SQL Server from overwriting a file. Tapes can be erased using other methods, and disk files can be deleted through the operating system. For more information about expiration verification, see SKIP and FORMAT in this topic.

  • EXPIREDATE = { 'date'| **@**date_var }
    Specifies when the backup set expires and can be overwritten. If supplied as a variable (@date_var), this date must follow the configured system datetime format and be specified as one of the following:

    • A string constant (@date_var = date)

    • A variable of character string data type (except for the ntext or text data types)

    • A smalldatetime

    • A datetime variable

    For example:

    • 'Dec 31, 2020 11:59 PM'

    • '1/1/2021'

    For information about how to specify datetime values, see Using Date and Time Data.

    Note

    To ignore the expiration date, use the SKIP option.

  • RETAINDAYS = { days| **@days_var }
    Specifies the number of days that must elapse before this backup media set can be overwritten. If supplied as a variable (@**days_var), it must be specified as an integer.

Media Set Options

These options operate on the media set as a whole.

• { NOINIT | INIT }
  Controls whether the backup operation appends to or overwrites the existing backup sets on the backup media. The default is to append to the most recent backup set on the media (NOINIT).

  Note

  For information about the interactions between { NOINIT | INIT } and { NOSKIP | SKIP }, see "Remarks," later in this topic.

  • NOINIT
    Indicates that the backup set is appended to the specified media set, preserving existing backup sets. If a media password is defined for the media set, the password must be supplied. NOINIT is the default.

    For more information, see Appending to Existing Backup Sets.

  • INIT
    Specifies that all backup sets should be overwritten, but preserves the media header. If INIT is specified, any existing backup set on that device is overwritten, if conditions permit. By default, BACKUP checks for the following conditions and does not overwrite the backup media if either condition exists:

    • Any backup set has not yet expired. For more information, see the EXPIREDATE and RETAINDAYS options.

    • The backup set name given in the BACKUP statement, if provided, does not match the name on the backup media. For more information, see the NAME option, earlier in this section.

    To override these checks, use the SKIP option.

    Note

    If the backup media is password protected, SQL Server does not write to the media unless the media password is supplied. This check is not overridden by the SKIP option. Password-protected media may be overwritten only by reformatting the media, which deletes the backups on the media. For information on the media password, see "MEDIAPASSWORD", earlier in this topic. For information about reformatting media, see "FORMAT", earlier in this topic.

    For more information, see Overwriting Backup Sets.

• { NOSKIP | SKIP }
  Controls whether a backup operation checks the expiration date and time of the backup sets on the media before overwriting them.

  Note

  For information about the interactions between { NOINIT | INIT } and { NOSKIP | SKIP }, see "Remarks," later in this topic.

  • NOSKIP
    Instructs the BACKUP statement to check the expiration date of all backup sets on the media before allowing them to be overwritten. This is the default behavior.

  • SKIP
    Disables the checking of backup set expiration and name that is usually performed by the BACKUP statement to prevent overwrites of backup sets. For information about the interactions between { INIT | NOINIT } and { NOSKIP | SKIP }, see "Remarks," later in this topic.

    To view the expiration dates of backup sets, query the expiration_date column of the backupset history table.

• { NOFORMAT | FORMAT }
  Specifies whether the media header should be written on the volumes used for this backup operation, overwriting any existing media header and backup sets.

  • NOFORMAT
    Specifies that the backup operation preserves the existing media header and backup sets on the media volumes used for this backup operation. This is the default behavior.

  • FORMAT
    Specifies that a new media set be created. FORMAT causes the backup operation to write a new media header on all media volumes used for the backup operation. The existing contents of the volume become invalid, because any existing media header and backup sets are overwritten.

    Important

    Use FORMAT carefully. Formatting any volume of a media set renders the entire media set unusable. For example, if you initialize a single tape belonging to an existing striped media set, the entire media set is rendered useless.

    Specifying FORMAT implies SKIP; SKIP does not need to be explicitly stated.

• MEDIADESCRIPTION = { text | **@**text_variable }
  Specifies the free-form text description, maximum of 255 characters, of the media set.

• MEDIANAME = { media_name | **@**media_name_variable }
  Specifies the media name for the entire backup media set. The media name must be no longer than 128 characters, If MEDIANAME is specified, it must match the previously specified media name already existing on the backup volumes. If it is not specified, or if the SKIP option is specified, there is no verification check of the media name.

• MEDIAPASSWORD = { mediapassword | **@**mediapassword_variable }
  Sets the password for the media set. MEDIAPASSWORD is a character string.

  Important

  This feature will be removed in the next version of Microsoft SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work, and plan to modify applications that currently use this feature.

  If a password is defined for the media set, the password must be supplied before you can create a backup set on that media set. In addition, that media password also must be supplied to perform any restore operation from the media set. Password-protected media may be overwritten only by reformatting. For more information, see the FORMAT option. (For more information about using passwords, see the Permissions section later in this topic.)

  Security Note

  The protection provided by this password is weak. It is intended to prevent an incorrect restore using SQL Server tools by authorized or unauthorized users. It does not prevent the reading of the backup data by other means or the replacement of the password. The best practice for protecting backups is to store backup tapes in a secure location or back up to disk files that are protected by adequate access control lists (ACLs). The ACLs should be set on the directory root under which backups are created.

• BLOCKSIZE = { blocksize | **@**blocksize_variable }
  Specifies the physical block size, in bytes. The supported sizes are 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, and 65536 (64 KB) bytes. The default is 65536 for tape devices and 512 otherwise. Typically, this option is unnecessary because BACKUP automatically selects a block size that is appropriate to the device. Explicitly stating a block size overrides the automatic selection of block size.

  If you are taking a backup that you plan to copy onto and restore from a CD-ROM, specify BLOCKSIZE=2048.

  Note

  This option typically affects performance only when writing to tape devices.

Data Transfer Options

• BUFFERCOUNT = { buffercount | **@**buffercount_variable }
  Specifies the total number of I/O buffers to be used for the backup operation. You can specify any positive integer; however, large numbers of buffers might cause "out of memory" errors because of inadequate virtual address space in the Sqlservr.exe process.

  The total space used by the buffers is determined by: buffercount*****maxtransfersize.

  Note

  For important information about using the BUFFERCOUNT option, see the Incorrect BufferCount data transfer option can lead to OOM condition blog.

• MAXTRANSFERSIZE = { maxtransfersize | **@**maxtransfersize_variable }
  Specifies the largest unit of transfer in bytes to be used between SQL Server and the backup media. The possible values are multiples of 65536 bytes (64 KB) ranging up to 4194304 bytes (4 MB).

Error Management Options

These options allow you to determine whether backup checksums are enabled for the backup operation and whether the operation will stop on encountering an error.

• { NO_CHECKSUM | CHECKSUM }
  Controls whether backup checksums are enabled.

  • NO_CHECKSUM
    Explicitly disables the generation of backup checksums (and the validation of page checksums). This is the default behavior, except for a compressed backup.

  • CHECKSUM
    Enables backup checksums, so that BACKUP can do the following:

    1. Prior to writing a page to the backup media, BACKUP verifies the page (page checksum or torn page), if this information is present on the page.

    2. Regardless of whether page checksums are present, BACKUP generates a separate backup checksum for the backup streams. Restore operations can optionally use the backup checksum to validate that the backup is not corrupted. The backup checksum is stored on the backup media, not on the database pages. The backup checksum can optionally be used at restore time,

    Using backup checksums may affect workload and backup throughput.

    This is the default behavior for a compressed backup.

• { STOP_ON_ERROR | CONTINUE_AFTER_ERROR }
  Controls whether a backup operation stops or continues after encountering a page checksum error.

  • STOP_ON_ERROR
    Instructs BACKUP to fail if a page checksum does not verify. This is the default behavior.

  • CONTINUE_AFTER_ERROR
    Instructs BACKUP to continue despite encountering errors such as invalid checksums or torn pages.

    If you are unable to back up the tail of the log using the NO_TRUNCATE option when the database is damaged, you can attempt a tail-log log backup by specifying CONTINUE_AFTER_ERROR instead of NO_TRUNCATE.

Compatibility Options

• RESTART
  Has no effect. This option is accepted by the version for compatibility with previous versions of SQL Server.

Monitoring Options

• STATS [ **=**percentage ]
  Displays a message each time another percentage completes, and is used to gauge progress. If percentage is omitted, SQL Server displays a message after each 10 percent is completed.

  The STATS option reports the percentage complete as of the threshold for reporting the next interval. This is at approximately the specified percentage; for example, with STATS=10, if the amount completed is 40 percent, the option might display 43 percent. For large backup sets, this is not a problem, because the percentage complete moves very slowly between completed I/O calls.

Tape Options

These options are used only for TAPE devices. If a nontape device is being used, these options are ignored.

• { REWIND | NOREWIND }

  • REWIND
    Specifies that SQL Server will release and rewind the tape. REWIND is the default.

  • NOREWIND
    Specifies that SQL Server will keep the tape open after the backup operation. You can use this option to help improve performance when performing multiple backup operations to a tape.

    NOREWIND implies NOUNLOAD, and these options are incompatible within a single BACKUP statement.

    Note

    If you use NOREWIND, the instance of SQL Server retains ownership of the tape drive until a BACKUP or RESTORE statement that is running in the same process uses either the REWIND or UNLOAD option, or the server instance is shut down. Keeping the tape open prevents other processes from accessing the tape. For information about how to display a list of open tapes and to close an open tape, see Backup Devices.

• { UNLOAD | NOUNLOAD }

  Note

  UNLOAD/NOUNLOAD is a session setting that persists for the life of the session or until it is reset by specifying the alternative.

  • UNLOAD
    Specifies that the tape is automatically rewound and unloaded when the backup is finished. UNLOAD is the default when a session begins.

  • NOUNLOAD
    Specifies that after the BACKUP operation the tape will remain loaded on the tape drive.

Log-specific Options

These options are only used with BACKUP LOG.

• { NORECOVERY | STANDBY **=**undo_file_name }

  • NORECOVERY
    Backs up the tail of the log and leaves the database in the RESTORING state. NORECOVERY is useful when failing over to a secondary database or when saving the tail of the log before a RESTORE operation.

    To perform a best-effort log backup that skips log truncation and then take the database into the RESTORING state atomically, use the NO_TRUNCATE and NORECOVERY options together.

  • STANDBY **=**standby_file_name
    Backs up the tail of the log and leaves the database in a read-only and STANDBY state. The STANDBY clause writes standby data (performing rollback, but with the option of further restores). Using the STANDBY option is equivalent to BACKUP LOG WITH NORECOVERY followed by a RESTORE WITH STANDBY.

    Using standby mode requires a standby file, specified by standby_file_name, whose location is stored in the log of the database. If the specified file already exists, the Database Engine overwrites it; if the file does not exist, the Database Engine creates it. The standby file becomes part of the database.

    This file holds the rolled back changes, which must be reversed if RESTORE LOG operations are to be subsequently applied. There must be enough disk space for the standby file to grow so that it can contain all the distinct pages from the database that were modified by rolling back uncommitted transactions.

• NO_TRUNCATE
  Specifies that the log not be truncated and causes the Database Engine to attempt the backup regardless of the state of the database. Consequently, a backup taken with NO_TRUNCATE might have incomplete metadata. This option allows backing up the log in situations where the database is damaged.

  The NO_TRUNCATE option of BACKUP LOG is equivalent to specifying both COPY_ONLY and CONTINUE_AFTER_ERROR.

  Without the NO_TRUNCATE option, the database must be in the ONLINE state. If the database is in the SUSPENDED state, you might be able to create a backup by specifying NO_TRUNCATE. But if the database is in the OFFLINE or EMERGENCY state, BACKUP is not allowed even with NO_TRUNCATE. For information about database states, see Database States.

To avoid filling up the transaction log of a database, routine backups are essential. Under the simple recovery model, log truncation occurs automatically after you back up the database, and under the full recovery model, after you back up the transaction log. However, sometimes the truncation process can be delayed. For information about identifying and responding to delaying factors, see Factors That Can Delay Log Truncation.

For more information about log truncation in general, see Transaction Log Truncation.

SQL Server uses an online backup process to allow a database backup while the database is still in use. During a backup, most operations are possible; for example, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements are allowed during a backup operation.

Operations that cannot run during a database or transaction log backup include:

• File management operations such as the ALTER DATABASE statement with either the ADD FILE or REMOVE FILE options.

• Shrink database or shrink file operations. This includes auto-shrink operations.

If a backup operation overlaps with a file-management or shrink operation, a conflict arises. Regardless of which of the conflicting operation began first, the second operation waits for the lock set by the first operation to time out (the time-out period is controlled by a session timeout setting). If the lock is released during the time-out period, the second operation continues. If the lock times out, the second operation fails.

Backup media is formatted by a BACKUP statement if and only if any of the following is true:

• The FORMAT option is specified.

• The media is empty.

• The operation is writing a continuation tape.

For more information, see Creating a New Media Set.

The supported backup types depend on the recovery model of the database, as follows

• All recovery models support full and differential backups of data.

  Scope of backup	Backup types
  Whole database	Database backups cover the whole database. Optionally, each database backup can serve as the base of a series of one or more differential database backups.
  Partial database	Partial backups cover read/-write filegroups and, possibly, one or more read-only files or filegroups. Optionally, each partial backup can serve as the base of a series of one or more differential partial backups.
  File or filegroup	File backups cover one or more files or filegroups, and are relevant only for databases that contain multiple filegroups. Under the simple recovery model, file backups are essentially restricted to read-only secondary filegroups. Optionally, each file backup can serve as the base of a series of one or more differential file backups.

• Under the full recovery model or bulk-logged recovery model, conventional backups also include sequential transaction log backups (or log backups), which are required. Each log backup covers the portion of the transaction log that was active when the backup was created, and it includes all log records not backed up in a previous log backup.

  To minimize work-loss exposure, at the cost of administrative overhead, you should schedule frequent log backups. Scheduling differential backups between full backups can reduce restore time by reducing the number of log backups you have to restore after restoring the data.

  We recommend that you put log backups on a separate volume than the database backups.

  Note

  Before you can create the first log backup, you must create a full backup.

  For more information, see Working with Transaction Log Backups.

• A copy-only backup is a special-purpose full backup or log backup that is independent of the normal sequence of conventional backups. To create a copy-only backup, specify the COPY_ONLY option in your BACKUP statement. For more information, see Copy-Only Backups.

This table describes interactions between the { NOINIT | INIT } and { NOSKIP | SKIP } options.

1 Validity includes the MTF version number and other header information. If the version specified is unsupported or an unexpected value, an error occurs.

2 The user must belong to the appropriate fixed database or server roles and provide the correct media password to perform a backup operation.

SQL Server includes the following backup history tables that track backup activity:

• backupfile (Transact-SQL)

• backupfilegroup (Transact-SQL)

• backupmediafamily (Transact-SQL)

• backupmediaset (Transact-SQL)

• backupset (Transact-SQL)

When a restore is performed, if the backup set was not already recorded in the msdb database, the backup history tables might be modified.

BACKUP supports the RESTART option to provide backward compatibility with earlier versions of SQL Server. But RESTART has no effect in SQL Server 2005 and later versions.

A stripe set is a set of disk files on which data is divided into blocks and distributed in a fixed order. The number of backup devices used in a stripe set must stay the same (unless the media is reinitialized with FORMAT).

The following example writes a backup of the AdventureWorks2008R2 database to a new striped media set that uses three disk files.

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2
TO DISK='X:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_1.bak', 
DISK='Y:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_2.bak', 
DISK='Z:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_3.bak'
WITH FORMAT,
   MEDIANAME = 'AdventureWorks2008R2StripedSet0',
   MEDIADESCRIPTION = 'Striped media set for AdventureWorks2008R2 database;
GO

After a backup device is defined as part of a stripe set, it cannot be used for a single-device backup unless FORMAT is specified. Similarly, a backup device that contains nonstriped backups cannot be used in a stripe set unless FORMAT is specified. To split a striped backup set, use FORMAT.

If neither MEDIANAME nor MEDIADESCRIPTION is specified when a media header is written, the media header field corresponding to the blank item is empty.

Typically, backups are unmirrored, and BACKUP statements simply include a TO clause. However, a total of four mirrors is possible per media set. For a mirrored media set, the backup operation writes to multiple groups of backup devices. Each group of backup devices comprises a single mirror within the mirrored media set. Every mirror must use the same quantity and type of physical backup devices, which must all have the same properties.

To back up to a mirrored media set, all of the mirrors must be present. To back up to a mirrored media set, specify the TO clause to specify the first mirror, and specify a MIRROR TO clause for each additional mirror.

For a mirrored media set, each MIRROR TO clause must list the same number and type of devices as the TO clause. The following example writes to a mirrored media set that contains two mirrors and uses three devices per mirror:

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2
TO DISK='X:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_1a.bak', 
DISK='Y:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_2a.bak', 
DISK='Z:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_3a.bak'
MIRROR TO DISK='X:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_1b.bak', 
DISK='Y:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_2b.bak', 
DISK='Z:\SQLServerBackups\AdventureWorks2008R2_3b.bak';
GO

Media Families in Mirrored Media Sets

The following example backs up the AdventureWorks2008R2 database to a disk file.

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2 
 TO DISK = 'Z:\SQLServerBackups\AdvWorksData.bak'
   WITH FORMAT;
GO

The following example backups up the AdventureWorks2008R2 sample database, which uses the simple recovery model by default. To support log backups, the AdventureWorks2008R2 database is modified to use the full recovery model.

Next, the example uses sp_addumpdevice to create a logical backup device for backing up data, AdvWorksData, and creates another logical backup device for backing up the log, AdvWorksLog.

The example then creates a full database backup to AdvWorksData, and after a period of update activity, backs up the log to AdvWorksLog.

-- To permit log backups, before the full database backup, modify the database 
-- to use the full recovery model.
USE master;
GO
ALTER DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2
   SET RECOVERY FULL;
GO
-- Create AdvWorksData and AdvWorksLog logical backup devices. 
USE master
GO
EXEC sp_addumpdevice 'disk', 'AdvWorksData', 
'Z:\SQLServerBackups\AdvWorksData.bak';
GO
EXEC sp_addumpdevice 'disk', 'AdvWorksLog', 
'X:\SQLServerBackups\AdvWorksLog.bak';
GO

-- Back up the full AdventureWorks2008R2 database.
BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2 TO AdvWorksData;
GO
-- Back up the AdventureWorks2008R2 log.
BACKUP LOG AdventureWorks2008R2
   TO AdvWorksLog;
GO

The following example creates a full file backup of every file in both of the secondary filegroups.

--Back up the files in SalesGroup1:
BACKUP DATABASE Sales
   FILEGROUP = 'SalesGroup1',
   FILEGROUP = 'SalesGroup2'
   TO DISK = 'Z:\SQLServerBackups\SalesFiles.bck'
GO

The following example creates a differential file backup of every file in both of the secondary filegroups.

--Back up the files in SalesGroup1:
BACKUP DATABASE Sales
   FILEGROUP = 'SalesGroup1',
   FILEGROUP = 'SalesGroup2'
   TO DISK = 'Z:\SQLServerBackups\SalesFiles.bck'
   WITH 
      DIFFERENTIAL
GO

The following example creates a mirrored media set containing a single media family and four mirrors and backs up the AdventureWorks2008R2 database to them.

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2
TO TAPE = '\\.\tape0'
MIRROR TO TAPE = '\\.\tape1'
MIRROR TO TAPE = '\\.\tape2'
MIRROR TO TAPE = '\\.\tape3'
WITH
   FORMAT,
   MEDIANAME = 'AdventureWorks2008R2Set0'

The following example creates a mirrored media set in which each mirror consists of two media families. The example then backs up the AdventureWorks2008R2 database to both mirrors.

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2
TO TAPE = '\\.\tape0', TAPE = '\\.\tape1'
MIRROR TO TAPE = '\\.\tape2', TAPE = '\\.\tape3'
WITH
   FORMAT,
   MEDIANAME = 'AdventureWorks2008R2Set1'

The following example appends a backup set to the media set created in the preceding example.

BACKUP LOG AdventureWorks2008R2
TO TAPE = '\\.\tape0', TAPE = '\\.\tape1'
MIRROR TO TAPE = '\\.\tape2', TAPE = '\\.\tape3'
WITH 
   NOINIT,
   MEDIANAME = 'AdventureWorks2008R2Set1'

[Top of examples]

The following example formats the media, creating a new media set, and perform a compressed full backup of the AdventureWorks2008R2 database.

BACKUP DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2 TO DISK='Z:\SQLServerBackups\AdvWorksData.bak' 
WITH 
   FORMAT, 
   COMPRESSION

[Top of examples]