An incremental backup is a backup of the transaction log file only. Typically, you should make several incremental backups between each full backup.

For more information about the difference between a full backup and an incremental backup, see Types of backup.

For more information about how to perform the backup operation, see:

• Making a backup, continuing to use the original transaction log
• Making a backup, deleting the original transaction log
• Making a backup, renaming the original transaction log

Notes

The backup copies of the database file and transaction log file have the same names as the online versions of these files. For example, if you make a backup of the sample database, the backup copies are called demo.db and demo.log. When you repeat the backup statement, choose a new backup directory to avoid overwriting the backup copies.

For more information about how to make a repeatable incremental backup command by renaming the backup copy of the transaction log, see Renaming the backup copy of the transaction log during backup.