---
title: "Creating Application-Aware Backup Job"
description: "Application-aware processing allows you to create transactionally consistent backups. These backups allow you to further restore application items: emails for mail agents, tables for DB servers, accounts for domain controllers."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/qsg/ms_sql_backup_job.html"
breadcrumb: "Quick Start Guide > VM Backup > Creating Application-Aware Backup Job"
dateModified: "2026-11-12"
---

# Creating Application-Aware Backup Job

Application-aware processing allows you to create transactionally consistent backups. These backups allow you to further restore application items: emails for mail agents, tables for DB servers, accounts for domain controllers.

Veeam Backup & Replication can create transactionally consistent backups of VMs that run the following applications:

- Microsoft Exchange
- Active Directory
- SharePoint
- SQL Server
- Oracle Database

In this section, you will learn how to create the application-aware backup job for a Microsoft SQL Server.

::: important

Application-aware processing is supported only for the listed applications and VSS-aware applications. If an application that you want to back up is not supported, you can use VMware Tools or Microsoft Hyper-V guest quiescence with pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts. For more information, see the [VMware Tools Quiescence](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/tools_quiescence.html?ver=13) and [Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/pre_post_scripts.html?ver=13) (VMware vSphere), [Microsoft Hyper-V Guest Quiescence](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/hyperv_tools_quiescence.html?ver=13) and [Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/pre_post_scripts.html?ver=13) (Microsoft Hyper-V) sections in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

:::

## Before You Begin

Make sure that the version of your Microsoft SQL Server is supported. For details, see the [System Requirements](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/system_requirements.html?ver=13) section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

## Creating Application-Aware Backup

To create the application-aware backup job for the Microsoft SQL Server, do the following:

1. In the inventory pane of the **Home** view, right-click **Jobs** and select **Backup** > **Virtual Machine** > *\<platform\>* to launch the **New Backup Job** wizard.
2. At the **Name** step of the wizard, specify a name and description for the backup job.
3. At the **Virtual Machines** step of the wizard, select the VM.
4. At the **Storage** step of the wizard, select a backup repository or keep the default settings.
5. At the **Guest Processing** step of the wizard, do the following:

   1. Select the **Enable application-aware processing** check box.
   2. Select the **Enable guest file system indexing** check box.

      VM guest OS file indexing allows you to search for VM guest OS files inside VM backups and perform 1-click restore in Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager. For details, see the [VM Guest OS File Indexing](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/backup_job_vss_indexing_vm.html?ver=13) section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

   3. In the **Guest OS credentials** section, specify credentials of a user account to connect to the VM guest OS. The user account must have Administrator permissions on the Microsoft SQL Server.
   4. Click the **Customize application handling options for individual machines** button at the top of the window.

   ![Specify Guest OS Processing Settings](images/vm_backup_job_vss_creds.png "Specify Guest OS Processing Settings")

6. In the opened window, select the Microsoft SQL Server from the list and click **Edit**.
7. In the **Processing Settings** windows, do the following:

   1. In the **VSS Settings** section of the **General** tab, check that the **Process transaction logs with this job** option is selected.
   2. On the **SQL** tab, select **Backup logs periodically** option.

      Veeam Backup & Replication will create an auxiliary job that runs continuously and ships database transaction logs. Transaction logs are shipped to the backup repository and saved in .VLB files next to other backup job files. Thus, you have a chain of restore points and a set of transaction logs that cover intervals between these restore points.

   ![Specify SQL Backup Settings](images/vm_backup_job_vss_sql.png "Specify SQL Backup Settings")

8. At the **Schedule** step of the wizard, define scheduling settings for the job.
9. At the **Summary** step of the wizard, select the **Run the job when I click Finish** check box and click the **Finish** button.
10. In the inventory pane of the **Home** view, expand the **Last 24 Hours** node to see the created jobs. You must see two jobs: one that processes the Microsoft SQL Server and the other one that ships transaction logs.

    [![View Backup Job Statistics](images/sql_backup_stats.png "View Backup Job Statistics")](images/sql_backup_stats.png){.toggle scale=75}

## Reference

For more information on application-aware backups, see [Application-Aware Processing](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/application_aware_processing.html?ver=13) (VMware vSphere) and [Application-Aware Processing](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/application_aware_processing_hv.html?ver=13) (Microsoft Hyper-V) sections in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.