Force Deleting Backups
Veeam Plug-In has a functionality that automatically force deletes backup files which are older than specified number of days. For example, it may be helpful if a database was renamed and backups for this database created before the renaming are no longer processed by Veeam Plug-In.
To delete backup files, do the following:
- On the Microsoft SQL Server machine, navigate to the %PROGRAMFILES%\Veeam\Plugins\Microsoft SQL\ folder.
- Run the following command:
MSSQLConfigTool --set-force-delete --days <days> --bkp <backup_name> --repo <repository_name> --force |
where:
- <days> is the retention period in days. After this period, Veeam Plug-In automatically force deletes the specified backup files.
- <backup_name> is the name of the backup. By default, Veeam Plug-In names backup files after the protected Microsoft SQL Server.
- <repository_name> is the name of the repository where backup files are located.
Also, you can specify the --force option. This option allows to override additional input prompts and error messages.
For example:
MSSQLConfigTool --set-force-delete --days 100 --bkp SRV001 --repo "Default Backup Repository" |
Considerations and Limitations
Before you delete backup files, consider the following:
- Make sure the number of days specified in the command exceeds the retention policy configured in the Back Up Database wizard. For details, see Specify Backup Options.
- Make sure the number of days specified in the command exceeds the immutability period configured for the backup repository.
- If backups that you want to delete are stored in the scale-out repository:
- Make sure these backups are not on the extent that is in maintenance mode. For details, see Maintenance Mode.
- Make sure backups are not stored in the Archive tier.
- The command cannot delete imported backups.