I'm running a small web application with SQL server express (2005) as backend. I can create a backup with a SQL script, however, I'd like to schedule this on a daily basis. As extra option (should-have) I'd like to keep only the last X backups (for space-saving reasons obviously) Any pointers?
[edit] SQL server agent is unavailable in SQL server express...
You cannot use the SQL Server agent in SQL Server Express. The way I have done it before is to create a SQL Script, and then run it as a scheduled task each day, you could have multiple scheduled tasks to fit in with your backup schedule/retention. The command I use in the scheduled task is:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\SQLCMD.EXE" -i"c:\path\to\sqlbackupScript.sql"
We have used the combination of:
Cobian Backup for scheduling/maintenance
ExpressMaint for backup
Both of these are free. The process is to script ExpressMaint to take a backup as a Cobian "before Backup" event. I usually let this overwrite the previous backup file. Cobian then takes a zip/7zip out of this and archives these to the backup folder. In Cobian you can specify the number of full copies to keep, make multiple backup cycles etc.
ExpressMaint command syntax example:
expressmaint -S HOST\SQLEXPRESS -D ALL_USER -T DB -R logpath -RU WEEKS -RV 1 -B backuppath -BU HOURS -BV 3