Server configuration: backup compression algorithm

  • Article

Applies to: SQL Server 2022 (16.x)

This article describes how to view or configure the backup compression algorithm server configuration option in SQL Server with Transact-SQL. The backup compression algorithm option determines which algorithm to use to set the backup.

The backup compression algorithm configuration option is required for you to implement integrated acceleration and offloading solutions.

Prerequisites

  • Windows operating system
  • SQL Server 2022 (16.x)

Permissions

Execute permissions on sp_configure with no parameters or with only the first parameter are granted to all users by default. To execute sp_configure with both parameters to change a configuration option or to run the RECONFIGURE statement, a user must be granted the ALTER SETTINGS server-level permission. The ALTER SETTINGS permission is implicitly held by the sysadmin and serveradmin fixed server roles.

View the backup compression algorithm option

  1. In SQL Server Management Studio, connect to the Database Engine.

  2. From the Standard bar, select New Query.

  3. Copy and paste the following example into the query window and select Execute. This example queries the sys.configurations catalog view to determine the value for backup compression algorithm. A value of 0 means that backup compression is off, and a value of 1 means that SQL Server uses the default backup compression algorithm (MS_XPRESS). A value of 2 means that SQL Server uses the Intel&reg QAT backup compression algorithm.

    SELECT value
FROM sys.configurations
WHERE name = 'backup compression algorithm';
GO

Configure the backup compression default option

  1. In SQL Server Management Studio, connect to the Database Engine.

  2. From the Standard bar, select New Query.

  3. Copy and paste the following example into the query window and select Execute. This example shows how to use sp_configure to configure the server instance to use Intel® QAT as the default compression algorithm:

    EXECUTE sp_configure 'backup compression algorithm', 2;

RECONFIGURE;

    To change the default compression algorithm back to the default, use the following script:

    EXECUTE sp_configure 'backup compression algorithm', 1;

RECONFIGURE;

For more information, see Server configuration options.

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