SQL Server has built-in tools to mange data and database backups. Imagine if you had a Microsoft Access database and it was deleted. There is no good way to get your information back. With SQL Server, you have the ability to schedule backups of the database. These back-ups could be stored in a separate location for disaster recovery. There are two kinds of backups:
- Full Backup
- Differential Backup
Full Backup
Full Backups stores a full copy of the database on any supported backup media. You do not have to take the database offline to perform a full backup, however these backups consume a large amount of resources and users may notice that response times are a little slower. All backups can be scheduled for off peek times to minimize the impact that this would have on the end users.
Differential backups
There are times that you may not want to use as many resources as a full backup requires, but feel that it is important to have a backup at a certain time. This is when you may consider a differential backup. This backup uses less resources and backups information that has changed or been added since the last full backup. **It is very important to note that a differential backup alone will not be enough to restore the database, since it only contains data that was modified since the last full backup.