Backup to NAS device

Question

Backup to NAS device

Rob Pelletier

SSC Eights!

Points: 804
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October 7, 2008 at 3:36 pm

#382984

SQL Server 2005 SP2
I am trying to backup (using right-click/backup, or a maintenance plan) to a NAS device. A Terastation - some Linux-based thing.
Apparently, I don't have premissions to backup to it using SSMS - I can easily browse into the selected folder from Windows.
What hoops to I need to jump through to get SQL Server to backup? Can anyone tell me what credentials it's trying to use, if not those used to login to the server console?
Microsoft keps trying to make things "more secure". What good is security if the software isn't usable?
Thanks,
Rob P.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736068 More actions · Answer 1

Rob,

The thing you have to understand is you're not doing the backup. You submit a command to the server and it does the backup. So the service account running SQL Server needs to be able to back up.

Backing up to a remote drive, a NAS, is a bad idea. The backup process is not like a file copy. It throws data out as fast as possible and if there's any hiccup, the backup fails. You are better off backing up to the server, then doing a file copy to the NAS.

Rob Pelletier SSC Eights! Points: 804 More actions · Answer 2

Thanks,

I will try that - backing up to a local folder, then using ntbackup (or backupExec) to send it to the backup device.

I appreciate the quick response.

However, I do want to find out how to backup to the NAs directly, not to adoptit as a practice (your advice seems sound to me) but to understand a bit more about the credentials thing.

Thanks again!

Mike John SSCertifiable Points: 7216 More actions · Answer 3

When SQL Server was installed one of the options was what account does SQL Server run under. This can be things like "local system", a local Windows account or a domain account. The permissions to see network resources will depend on what account SQL Server is actually running under. You can change this if required and frequently I have seen it installed under local system - which does not get any rights to see the network. Books On Line has a good description of how to choose an appropriate account and how to change it - search for "service accounts" in BOL for a detailed description.

Mike John