Manually backup Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and purge old backups from command line (script)

SharePoint Services 3.0 creates its own SQL instance which needs to be backed up. Here are a couple of steps you can take to do a manual back up and purge older backups.


Step 1: Create a batch file and setup a task on the server that you are attempting to backup.


Here is a batch file I've used from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288541(office.12).aspx
backupsharepoint.bat

cd %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN 

stsadm.exe -o backup -directory "d:\Backup Sharepoint" -backupmethod full 

echo completed

It simply changes the directory to "%COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN" and runs stsadmn.exe. Note: The directory this is saving the backup to is "d:\Backup Sharepoint". Follow the instruction from here if you run into any snags.


Step 2: Once you've tested your backup task you can add a script to delete folders older than 10 days using VBS. Here is an example from here: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/wshdelfolder.htm


Create a vbs file called deloldfolders.vbs and save it in the same directory as your backupsharepoint.bat. Here is the code for it.

'DelFolder.vbs - December 1, 2005

'Ramesh Srinivasan

Dim i, fso, f, f1, sf, BasePath, CalcResult, fNameArray()

BasePath = "d:\Backup Sharepoint"

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

Set f = fso.GetFolder(BasePath)

Set sf = f.SubFolders

For Each f1 in sf

     CalcResult = DateDiff("d",f1.DateCreated,Now)

          if CalcResult > 10 then

                ReDim preserve fNameArray(i)

                fNameArray(i) = f1.Name

                i = i + 1

        end if

Next

For Each fName in fNameArray

    FSO.DeleteFolder(BasePath & "\" & fName)

Next

Then add this line to the end of your backupsharepoint.bat.

cscript.exe c:\deloldfolders.vbs 

So now you should have a task that run backupsharepoint.bat which will backup the databases and purge older backups.