An incremental backup is a backup of the transaction log only. Typically, full backups are interspersed with several incremental backups. See Full backups.

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 making a repeatable incremental backup command by renaming the backup copy of the transaction log, see Rename the backup copy of the transaction log during backup.

To make an incremental backup (overview)

1. Ensure that you have BACKUP or REMOTE DBA authority on the database.

2. Make a backup of your transaction log, not your database file.

See also

• Making a server-side backup
• Making a client-side backup
• Make a backup and delete the original transaction log
• Make a backup and rename the original transaction log
• Full backups
• Types of backup