LiteSpeed for SQL Server 8.9.5 - User Guide

Specifies the directory where to search for the backup file.

Note: AlterDIr replaced SDSearchAlternateBackupDirectory in LiteSpeed 8.6. Support for the old SDSearchAlternateBackupDirectory parameter will be gradually phased out.

Appends data to an existing full backup file.

Specifies a directory for the backup file.

Checks if the expected full backup exists when backing up to separate files and returns a failure message if it is not found. If the full backup file does not exist, it performs a full backup. If the full backup file does exist, the decision to perform a new full or a differential backup will depend on other conditions specified.

Specifies the last differential backup size to last full backup size ratio. When exceeding the specified ratio LiteSpeed performs a full backup.

This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• ".4"
• "40%"

Specifies the minimum number of days since last full backup required to perform full backup. The default value is 14.

Specifies the minimum amount of database changes required for the full backup.

This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• ".4"
• "40%"

Forces differential backup.

Forces full backup.

This option causes LiteSpeed to issue a full backup, if one of the following problems is discovered in the current backup set:

• The full backup is missing.
• A differential backup is missing from the backup set (excludes backups automatically removed after the specified retention period).
• LSN verification fails in the backup set.
• Verify operation fails on full or differential backup.

NOTE: If a problem is detected and a full backup is created through escalation, an error will be returned.

This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—False (default)
• 1—True

Specifies a directory for a mirror backup. You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

Specifies days of the week when a full backup is never performed. This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• 3—on Tuesday
• "tu"—on Tuesday
• "5-7"—from Thursday to Saturday
• "m, w, su"—on Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday

Performs a restore verification on the backup file just created (if backup was successful). This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Last—Verifies last backup performed (can be either a full or differential)
• Full, Last—Verifies the last full backup and last differential is available
• All—Verifies last full backup and all differentials since

Automatically selects the optimal compression level based on CPU usage or Disk IO. For more information, see Compression Methods.

You can tell Adaptive Compression to optimize backups either for size or for speed. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Size
• Speed

Processor affinity designates specific processors to run LiteSpeed, while not allowing LiteSpeed to run on the remaining processors.

This argument accepts decimal values and hexadecimal values. If a value begins with "0x" it is interpreted as hexadecimal. A positive 64-bit integer value translates to a binary mask where a value of 1 designates the corresponding processor to be able to run the LiteSpeed process.

NOTE: 32-bit Windows is internally limited to a 32-bit mask.

For example, you need to select processors 2, 3, and 6 for use with LiteSpeed. Number the bits from the right to left. The rightmost bit represents the first processor. Set the second, third, and sixth bits to 1 and all other bits to 0. The result is binary 100110, which is decimal 38 or hexadecimal 0x26. Review the following for additional information:

Tip: Before you start tuning the CPU Throttle or Affinity parameters to adjust backup performance, try limiting the number of threads. If you decide to use an affinity value other than default, it is recommended that you limit the threading as well. You may also want to consider using Adaptive Compression to maintain backup performance. For more information, see Adaptive Compression.

For more information, see Configure LiteSpeed Defaults.

Specifies a file or directory (and all nested files and directories) to attach with this backup operation. You can supply multiple instances of this argument..

Specifies a description to store with the backup.

This argument accepts variables. For more information, see LiteSpeed Variables.

Specifies the name of the backup set.

This argument accepts variables. For more information, see LiteSpeed Variables.

Specifies the number of SQL Server buffers available for a LiteSpeed operation. The default value is set by SQL Server.

NOTE: LiteSpeed defaults typically result in the best performance. You should only modify advanced options after careful planning and testing.

Appends a user comment to the backup.

This argument accepts variables. For more information, see LiteSpeed Variables.

Specifies the compression level for the backup. Valid values are 0 through 8. 0 bypasses the compression routines. The remaining values of 1 through 8 specify compression with increasingly aggressive computation. 2 is the default value for disk backups and 7 is the default value for cloud backups.

When choosing a compression level, it is best to try various options using your equipment and data to determine the best option for your environment. Use the Backup Analyzer to test the performance of different compression levels. For more information, see Test Optimal Backup Settings.

NOTE: If both the compression level and Adaptive Compression option are passed in, LiteSpeed will not error out and will select and use Adaptive Compression.

Name of database to be backed up or restored.

Specifies encryption level. Works in conjunction with the Key (K) parameter. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—40-bit RC2

• 1—56 bit RC2

• 2—112 bit RC2

• 3—128 bit RC2

• 4—168 bit 3DES

• 5—128 bit RC4

• 6—128 bit AES

• 7—192 bit AES

• 8—256 bit AES

• 9—MS_AES_128

• 10—MS_AES_192

• 11—MS_AES_256

Specifies the date and time when the backup expires. LiteSpeed will not overwrite this file until expiration datetime is passed. This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• yyyy-mm-dd
• yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Specifies the fast compression file extension. This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• bak - the default for new items.
• bkp - for an existing item that does not have an extension defined.

Specifies a logical database file used for file or filegroup backups. You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

Specifies a database filegroup to include in the backup or restore. You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

A filegroup backup is a single backup of all files in the filegroup and is equivalent to explicitly listing all files in the filegroup when creating the backup. Files in a filegroup backup can be restored individually or as a group.

Specifies if LiteSpeed should wait and retry the read or write operation on failure. You can define retry options using the following parameters:

• DISK_RETRY_COUNT—Specifies the number of times that a specific operation will be retried on failure. The default is 4 retries, the maximum allowed setting is 1000.
• DISK_RETRY_WAIT—Specifies the number of seconds to wait immediately following a failure before retrying. The default is 15 seconds, the maximum allowed setting is 300.

NOTE: This functionality is only available for disk and cloud operations.

Value used to generate the encryption key for the encryption algorithm. If you do not supply encryption key, then the program will not encrypt the backup. If you use the wrong encryption key, the restore will fail.

Caution: When encrypting data, take care not to lose the encryption key; a backup cannot be restored or recovered without the original encryption key.

Example of key: 'Mypassword'

Creates a log file. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Logging off.

• 1 or any odd value—Logging on. Log file is removed on success.

• 2 or any even value—Logging on.

The default output directory is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs (or C:\ProgramData\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs) (or C:\ProgramData\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs). To log to a different directory run this utility with the following argument: --trace logpath = "path".

For more information, see Configure Logging in LiteSpeed.

Specifies the largest unit of transfer in bytes to be used between SQL Server and LiteSpeed. The possible values are multiples of 65536 bytes (64 KB) ranging up to 4,194,304 bytes (4 MB). The default is 1048576 (1 MB).

Produces a backup that includes several types of databases. Types can include: all, system, user, or selected databases.

This argument accepts one of the following values:

• All - Backup all system and user databases.
• System - Backup only system databases.
• User - Backup only user databases.
• Selected - Backup specifically selected databases.

Generates a map file during a backup for Object Level Recovery. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—False (default)
• 1—True

Specifies the user password. Passwords are case-sensitive. Required if the connection type is not a trusted connection.

Specifies the priority of the LiteSpeed process compared to other processes running on the same server. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• -1—Below Normal

• 0—Normal (Default)

• 1—AboveNormal

• 2—High

Specifies a partial backup, which includes the primary filegroup and any read-write secondary filegroups.

Specifies a number of days to retain the backup. LiteSpeed will not overwrite this file for this number of days. 

Displays backups that are to be removed (delete candidates) or kept according to the specified conditions and SmartCleanup logic. SmartCleanup does not remove any backups, if this parameter is specified.

Specifies the instance of Microsoft SQL Server to connect to. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• server_name
• server_name\instance_name

If no server is specified, the LiteSpeed command-line utility will connect to the default instance of SQL Server on the local computer.

Displays the syntax summary of the LiteSpeed command-line utility.

Determines the number of threads used for the backup. You will achieve the best results by specifying multiple threads, but the exact value depends on several factors including: processors available, affinity setting, compression level, encryption settings, IO device speed, and SQL Server responsiveness. The default is n-1 threads, where n is the number of processors.

Specifies the maximum CPU usage allowed. The argument accepts an integer value between 1 and 100. The default value is 100. This is the percentage of the total amount of CPU usage (across all enabled processors) available.

TIP: Before you start tuning the CPU Throttle or Affinity parameters to adjust backup performance, try limiting the number of threads. If you decide to use an affinity value other than default, it is recommended that you limit the threading as well. You may also want to consider using Adaptive Compression to maintain backup performance. For more information, see Adaptive Compression.

Specifies user login ID. Required if the connection type is not a trusted connection.

Login IDs are case-sensitive.

Specifies strings that will be passed directly to SQL Server in the backup/restore SQL.  

Some of the accepted parameters are the following:

• CHECKSUM—Causes checksums to be verified when a LiteSpeed backup is created.
  NOTE: When you restore a backup containing checksum, it is automatically checked. If you do not want to check the checksums during a restore, supply 'NO_CHECKSUM' .
• CONTINUE_AFTER_ERROR—Causes the backup be executed despite encountering an invalid backup checksum.
• STATS—Displays a message each time a percentage of the activity completes. The default is 10%.

Specifies the TSM server LiteSpeed connects to during backups and restores. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM client owner user password. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM configuration file.

Specifies how long to wait for a TSM device.

DSMI_DIR path if needed.

DSMI_LOG path.

Specifies the TSM file space, the logical space on the TSM server. It can be the drive label name or UNC name. You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

NOTE: IBM recommends that an application client should select a unique file space; it is recommended that LiteSpeed users follow this practice with a specific file space reserved for LiteSpeed backups.

Log name.

Specifies the TSM management class. If not specified, LiteSpeed uses the default management class.

The @AWSUseServerSideEncryption argument enables the encryption of data stored at rest in Amazon S3. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Do not use Server Side Encryption
• 1—Use Server Side Encryption

The @AzureBlobType argument specifies the types of blobs that can be stored in the Microsoft Azure cloud storage. This argument accepts one of the following values: "Block", "Page".

The @CloudAccessKey argument specifies the name of the unique Cloud Web Service alphanumeric access key that identifies each user. The selections include Amazon Access Key, Azure Account Name, Google e-mail styled account, S3 Compatible Storage Access Key.

The @CloudAccessKeyEnc argument specifies the name of the encrypted unique Cloud Web Service alphanumeric access key that identifies each user.

This parameter enables automatic file striping for LiteSpeed cloud backups.

This parameter contains the stripe size in GBs. LiteSpeed logic uses the database size to make a decision about the number of stripes needed for LiteSpeed cloud backups. For example, if you have a database with a size of 200GB and set @CloudAutoStripingThreshold = 50, then LiteSpeed uses 200/50 = 4 stripes.

The @CloudBucketName argument specifies the name of the container for cloud objects. Bucket names must be at least 3 and no more than 63 characters long. The selections are Amazon Bucket Name, Azure Container Name, Google Bucket Name, Google Bucket Name requirements are described at https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/naming, S3 Compatible Storage Bucket Name,

The @CloudGovRegion argument enables a special restricted region for the US Government use in Amazon S3 and Azure Clouds. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Do not use government cloud (default)
• 1—Use government cloud

The @CloudRegionName argument specifies the name of the Cloud Web Service region to use for a bucket. Example values are but not limited to: us-east-1, us-east-2, us-west-1, us-west-2, ca-central-1, eu-central-1, eu-west-1, eu-west-2, ap-south-1, ap-southeast-1, ap-southeast-2, ap-northeast-1, ap-northeast-2, sa-east-1, N'Germany' and N'China'.

The @CloudSecretKey argument specifies the name of the Cloud Web Service secret key that is assigned when you initially get a Cloud account.

The @CloudSecretKeyEnc argument specifies the name of the encrypted Cloud Web Service secret key that is assigned when you initially get a Cloud account.

The @CloudStorageClass argument specifies a range of storage classes established for different use cases including:

For Amazon S3:

• Standard: Standard storage - for general-purpose storage of frequently accessed data.
• Standard-IA: Standard Infrequent Access - for long-lived, but less frequently accessed data.

• RRS: Reduced Redundancy Storage - for non-critical data considering lower level of redundancy rather than Standard storage.

For Google Storage:

• Multi_regional - for frequently accessed data around the world as per serving website content, streaming videos, or gaming and mobile applications.
• Regional - for frequently accessed data in the same region as your Google Cloud DataProc or the Google Compute Engine instances that use it, as per data analytics.
• Nearline - for infrequently accessed data (data you expect to access no more than once per month).
• Coldline - for infrequently accessed data (data you expect to access no more than once per year).

The @CloudVendor argument specifies the name of the cloud service provider. The argument accepts one of the following values: "AmazonS3", "AzureBlob", "GoogleStorage" or "S3Compatible".

The @CloudEndpoint argument specifies the endpoint for S3 Compatible Storage and custom endpoint for Amazon S3 service (in case of VPC). Format: servername:port .Example values: "servername", "servername:port", "ip:port", "10.0.0.200:9021".

The @CloudAcceptAllCertificates argument instructs LiteSpeed accept self-signed certificates for S3 Compatible Storage. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Accept verified certificates only (default)
• 1—Accept self-signed certificates

Note: Delete backups is not supported in Maintenance Plans with this option.

DEPRECATED LiteSpeed 8.8: Was used to store for the Google Cloud Storage project ID; the project ID is now obtained from login. This parameter is retained for compatibility with old backup/restore scripts.

The @UseSSL argument specifies that the connection uses SSL security. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Do not use SSL
• 1—Use SSL (default)

The @ProxyHost argument is optional and specifies the name of the proxy host name that is running the proxy server.

The @ProxyLogin argument is optional and specifies the proxy server login credential.

The @ProxyPassword argument is optional and specifies the proxy server password credential.

The @ProxyPasswordEnc argument is optional and specifies the encrypted proxy server password credential.

The @ProxyPort argument is optional and contains the port number of the proxy server. The TCP/IP port values can be 1-65535.

Turns on monitoring and refuses to delete files that have the archive filesystem bit set. When enabled dependent files are not deleted.

Specifies the number of units (N). The full or differential backup must be at least N units old before it is eligible for cleanup.

See BackupRetainUnits for unit types details

Note: Old argument BackupRetainDays is still supported for compatibility reasons.

Defines unit type for BackupRetain argument.

Allowed values: hour / day / week / month / year.

Note: Month = 30 days, Year = 365 days

Specifies the date using one of the following formats:

YYYY-MM-DD

YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

where

• YYYY—4-digit year
• MM—2-digit month
• DD—2-digit day of the month
• HH—2-digit hour using the local 24-hour clock
• MM—2-digit minute
• SS—2-digit second

To be eligible for cleanup, the full or differential backup must be older than this date.

Controls how LiteSpeed handles copy-only backups. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Default—LiteSpeed will ignore copy-only backups except on secondary replicas in AlwaysOn Availability groups, in which case it will allow deletions. This is the default behavior when the parameter is not specified.
• Ignore—Copy-only backups are never deleted.
• AllowDeletes—Copy-only backups are removed according to the specified retention options.

NOTES:

• Transaction log backups are not considered dependent on copy-only full or copy-only tlog backups.
• Copy-only transaction log backups will not mark other transaction log or full backups as having a dependent.
• The values are not case-sensitive.

Name of database to be backed up or restored.

Only backups of this database are eligible for cleanup.

Displays backups that are to be removed (delete candidates) or kept according to the specified conditions and SmartCleanup logic. SmartCleanup does not remove any backups, if this parameter is specified.

Specifies the date of one of the following formats:

YYYY-MM-DD

YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

where

• YYYY—4-digit year
• MM—2-digit month
• DD—2-digit day of the month
• HH—2-digit hour using the local 24-hour clock
• MM—2-digit minute
• SS—2-digit second

To be eligible for cleanup, the t-log backup must be older than this date.

Creates a log file. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Logging off.

• 1 or any odd value—Logging on. Log file is removed on success.

• 2 or any even value—Logging on.

The default output directory is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs (or C:\ProgramData\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs) (or C:\ProgramData\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs). To log to a different directory run this utility with the following argument: --trace logpath = "path".

For more information, see Configure Logging in LiteSpeed.

Specifies the number of units (N). The t-log backup must be at least N units old before it is eligible for cleanup.

See also LogRetainUnits for unit types details

Note: Old argument @LogRetainDays is still supported for compatibility reasons.

Defines unit type for LogRetain argument.

Allowed values: hour / day / week / month / year.

Note: Month = 30 days, Year = 365 days

Produces a cleanup for several types of databases. Types can include: all, system, user, or selected databases.

This argument accepts one of the following values:

• All - Cleanup backups for all system and user databases.
• System - Cleanup backups for only system databases.
• User - Cleanup backups for only user databases.
• Selected - Cleanup backups for specifically selected databases.

Specifies Smart Cleanup behavior for searching backups to delete

1. 0 - Save last deleted backup ID and start check backups from this backup next time (default).
2. 1 - Review all backups from MSDB backups history (takes more time)

Defines locations (spread by semicolon symbol) to apply cleanup policy.

Disk: “F:\\Backups; F:\\mirrors”

Cloud folders: "fff\; test123\"

Specifies the instance of Microsoft SQL Server to connect to. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• server_name
• server_name\instance_name

If no server is specified, the LiteSpeed command-line utility will connect to the default instance of SQL Server on the local computer.

Specifies the instance of the destination server to delete.

Specifies the TSM administrative user name that has client authority for the TSM node. Some operations may require an administrative user with client owner authority to be specified in order to open a TSM session. The correct username and password may be obtained from the TSM administrator.

Specifies the plain text password of the administrative user which is used to log in to the TSM server and start the TSM session.

Specifies the TSM server LiteSpeed connects to during backups and restores. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM client owner user password. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM configuration file.

DSMI_DIR path if needed.

DSMI_LOG path.

Log name.

Specifies user login ID. Required if the connection type is not a trusted connection.

Login IDs are case-sensitive.

Specifies the user password. Passwords are case-sensitive. Required if the connection type is not a trusted connection.

Displays the syntax summary of the LiteSpeed command-line utility.

The @CloudAccessKey argument specifies the name of the unique Cloud Web Service alphanumeric access key that identifies each user. The selections include Amazon Access Key, Azure Account Name, Google e-mail styled account, S3 Compatible Storage Access Key.

The @CloudAccessKeyEnc argument specifies the name of the encrypted unique Cloud Web Service alphanumeric access key that identifies each user.

The @CloudBucketName argument specifies the name of the container for cloud objects. Bucket names must be at least 3 and no more than 63 characters long. The selections are Amazon Bucket Name, Azure Container Name, Google Bucket Name, Google Bucket Name requirements are described at https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/naming, S3 Compatible Storage Bucket Name,

The @CloudGovRegion argument enables a special restricted region for the US Government use in Amazon S3 and Azure Clouds. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Do not use government cloud (default)
• 1—Use government cloud

The @CloudRegionName argument specifies the name of the Cloud Web Service region to use for a bucket. Example values are but not limited to: us-east-1, us-east-2, us-west-1, us-west-2, ca-central-1, eu-central-1, eu-west-1, eu-west-2, ap-south-1, ap-southeast-1, ap-southeast-2, ap-northeast-1, ap-northeast-2, sa-east-1, N'Germany' and N'China'.

The @CloudSecretKey argument specifies the name of the Cloud Web Service secret key that is assigned when you initially get a Cloud account.

The @CloudSecretKeyEnc argument specifies the name of the encrypted Cloud Web Service secret key that is assigned when you initially get a Cloud account.

The @CloudVendor argument specifies the name of the cloud service provider. The argument accepts one of the following values: "AmazonS3", "AzureBlob", "GoogleStorage" or "S3Compatible".

The @CloudEndpoint argument specifies the endpoint for S3 Compatible Storage and custom endpoint for Amazon S3 service (in case of VPC). Format: servername:port .Example values: "servername", "servername:port", "ip:port", "10.0.0.200:9021".

The @CloudAcceptAllCertificates argument instructs LiteSpeed accept self-signed certificates for S3 Compatible Storage. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Accept verified certificates only (default)
• 1—Accept self-signed certificates

Note: Delete backups is not supported in Maintenance Plans with this option.

The @UseSSL argument specifies that the connection uses SSL security. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Do not use SSL
• 1—Use SSL (default)

The @ProxyHost argument is optional and specifies the name of the proxy host name that is running the proxy server.

The @ProxyLogin argument is optional and specifies the proxy server login credential.

The @ProxyPassword argument is optional and specifies the proxy server password credential.

The @ProxyPasswordEnc argument is optional and specifies the encrypted proxy server password credential.

The @ProxyPort argument is optional and contains the port number of the proxy server. The TCP/IP port values can be 1-65535.

Automatically selects the optimal compression level based on CPU usage or Disk IO. For more information, see Compression Methods.

You can tell Adaptive Compression to optimize backups either for size or for speed. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Size
• Speed

Specifies the affinity mask for the process. The mask is a 64-bit integer value. By default, it is 0 and will utilize all CPUs.

For more information, see Processor Affinity.

Specifies filepaths to include in both backup and restore operations. The filepath can be either a single file or a directory. If it is a directory, then LiteSpeed recursively includes all files and subdirectories. All attached files are encrypted and compressed, with all pertinent backup parameters supported. This feature works for disk, tape, TSM, and Double Click Restore as well. You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

When used within the context of a restore operation, the path parameter can be expanded to include a new destination. This form will take the syntax of <file_path> to <new_file_path>. The new filepath can be used to specify a new location but cannot rename a file.

This argument only restores the attached files. It does not restore the database, just the files that were attached to that backup.

NOTES:

• The original entire directory path need not be supplied (e.g. c: to c:\testadSattsm is allowed).

• c:\testad to testadr would restore all files in directory c:\testad to c:\testadr.

This option causes LiteSpeed to issue a full backup, if one of the following problems is discovered in the current backup set:

• The full backup is missing.
• A differential backup is missing from the backup set (excludes backups automatically removed after the specified retention period).
• LSN verification fails in the backup set.
• Verify operation fails on full or differential backup.

NOTE: If a problem is detected and a full backup is created through escalation, an error will be returned.

Value used to generate the encryption key for the encryption algorithm. If you do not supply encryption key, then the program will not encrypt the backup. If you use the wrong encryption key, the restore will fail.

Caution: When encrypting data, take care not to lose the encryption key; a backup cannot be restored or recovered without the original encryption key.

Example of key: 'Mypassword'

Specifies the database backup type.

Specifies the backup destination. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• DISK
• TAPE
• TSM
• TSMArchive

Specifies the number of SQL Server buffers available for a LiteSpeed operation. The default value is set by SQL Server.

Checks the allocation and structural integrity of tables and indexes.

Enables the Cleanup History task. This argument accepts one or more of the following:

• <number><time_unit>—Removes historical data older than specified time period. You can use one of the following time units:
  • HOURS
  • DAYS
  • WEEKS
  • MONTHS
  • YEARS
• BKUP—Deletes back up and restore history.
• JBS—Deletes SQL Server Agent jobs history.
• MAINTPLN—Deletes Maintenance plans history.
• Activity—Deletes LiteSpeed activity from the Local Repository.
• CentralActivity—Deletes LiteSpeed activity from the Central Repository.
• PurgeInfo—Deletes any information for deleted databases.
• LogShipping—Deletes log shipping history.
• Status—Deletes status history (Job, DTS, Maint Plans).
• ShrinkLog—Shrinks the repository databases log files.

Appends a user comment to the backup.

This argument accepts variables. For more information, see LiteSpeed Variables.

Specifies the compression level for the backup. Valid values are 0 through 8. 0 bypasses the compression routines. The remaining values of 1 through 8 specify compression with increasingly aggressive computation. 2 is the default value for disk backups and 7 is the default value for cloud backups.

When choosing a compression level, it is best to try various options using your equipment and data to determine the best option for your environment. Use the Backup Analyzer to test the performance of different compression levels. For more information, see Test Optimal Backup Settings.

NOTE: If both the compression level and Adaptive Compression option are passed in, LiteSpeed will not error out and will select and use Adaptive Compression.

Creates a subdirectory for each database.

Specifies the encryption level. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—40-bit RC2

• 1—56 bit RC2

• 2—112 bit RC2

• 3—128 bit RC2

• 4—168 bit 3DES

• 5—128 bit RC4

• 6—128 bit AES

• 7—192 bit AES

• 8—256 bit AES

• 9—MS_AES_128

• 10—MS_AES_192

• 11—MS_AES_256

Specifies the database names or the following built-in database groups to include in the backup:

• "ALL DATABASES"
• "ALL SYSTEM DATABASES"
• "ALL USER DATABASES"

Alternately, you can specify wildcard or regular expression patterns using one of the following formats:

• Mask:"<wildcard_expression>"
• Regex:"<regular_expression>"

For more information, see Use Wildcard and Regular Expressions in LiteSpeed.

Specifies the minimum amount of database changes required for the full backup.

Accepted values are 1-99, the default value is 35.

Creates a Double Click Restore executable. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 1—Creates one Double-Click Restore executable file. Note the following warning: The executable may be greater than 4GB for large databases. Windows Server is unable to run executable files larger than 4GB. However, the file will be convertible/restorable by LiteSpeed file.
• 2—Creates a Double Click Restore loader in the same location. (Default)

For more information, see Double Click Restore Executables.

Specifies the default file format, usually %D_%T_%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S.%EXT%, where:

• %D—Database name
• %T—Backup type (Full, Diff or Log)
• %Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S—Date and time
• %EXT%—File extension

For more information, see LiteSpeed Variables.

Deletes old backups based on the time period specified in the format: <number><time_unit>, where the time unit is one of the following:

• HOURS
• DAYS
• WEEKS
• MONTHS
• YEARS

Deletes .html reports older than the given time period. This argument accepts one of the following time units:

• HOURS
• DAYS
• WEEKS
• MONTHS
• YEARS

Deletes .txt reports older than the given time period. This argument accepts one of the following time units:

• HOURS
• DAYS
• WEEKS
• MONTHS
• YEARS

Deletes file by type. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• FileBkupbackup—Backup files
• FileRptreport—Maintenance plan text reports
• FileAny—Any file

Specifies the unit type for file age. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• MINUTES

• HOURS
• DAYS
• WEEKS
• MONTHS
• YEARS

Excludes databases. This argument accepts one or more of the following:

• Selected—This option will exclude databases supplied with the -D argument.
• LogShippng

• ReadOnly

• Offline
• Deleted
• Mask:"<wildcard_expression>"
• Regex:"<regular_expression>"
• IgnoreReplica—This option will ignore the preferred replica setting and will back up all replicas, unless they are excluded by the Primary and Secondary options.
• Primary
• Secondary

• Mn
• Tu
• Wd
• Th
• Fr
• St
• Sn

Specifies the date and time when the backup expires. LiteSpeed will not overwrite this file until expiration datetime is passed. This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• yyyy-mm-dd
• yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Specifies a database filegroup to include in the backup or restore. You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

A filegroup backup is a single backup of all files in the filegroup and is equivalent to explicitly listing all files in the filegroup when creating the backup. Files in a filegroup backup can be restored individually or as a group.

Specifies the number of units (N). The full or differential backup must be at least N units old before it is eligible for cleanup.

See BackupRetainUnits for unit types details

Note: Old argument BackupRetainDays is still supported for compatibility reasons.

Controls the debug logging options for a plan. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Logging off.

• 1 or any odd value—Logging on. Log file is removed on success.

• 2 or any even value—Logging on.

For more information, see Reporting and Logging in Maintenance Plans.

Controls the logging options for backups. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Logging off.

• 1 or any odd value—Logging on. Log file is removed on success.

• 2 or any even value—Logging on.

For more information, see Configure Logging in LiteSpeed.

Specifies the number of units (N). The t-log backup must be at least N units old before it is eligible for cleanup.

See also LogRetainUnits for unit types details

Note: Old argument @LogRetainDays is still supported for compatibility reasons.

Specifies the largest unit of transfer in bytes to be used between SQL Server and LiteSpeed. The possible values are multiples of 65536 bytes (64 KB) ranging up to 4,194,304 bytes (4 MB). The default is 1048576 (1 MB).

Specifies the notification options after backup. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Every—Notify every time
• Failure—Notify on failure only

Specifies whether the message is of low, high or normal importance. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Low
• 1—Normal
• 2—High

Generates a map file during a backup for Object Level Recovery.

Specifies the user password. Passwords are case-sensitive. Required if the connection type is not a trusted connection.

Specifies the priority of the LiteSpeed process compared to other processes running on the same server. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• -1—Below Normal

• 0—Normal (Default)

• 1—AboveNormal

• 2—High

Specifies whether LiteSpeed should perform checksums before writing to media and whether it should continue on error. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 1—Causes checksums to be verified when a LiteSpeed backup is created, LiteSpeed does not continue on error.
• 2—Causes the backup be executed on error, checksums are not verified.
• 3—Causes the backup be executed despite encountering an invalid backup checksum.

Checks if the expected full backup exists when backing up to separate files and returns a failure message if it is not found. If the full backup file does not exist, it performs a full backup. If the full backup file does exist, the decision to perform a new full or a differential backup will depend on other conditions specified.

Specifies a number of days to retain the backup. LiteSpeed will not overwrite this file for this number of days. 

Reduces the size of data and log files in a database that grow beyond a specified size. This arguments accepts the following values:

• Database size, in MB, when the database grows beyond this amount , it becomes eligible for shrinking. The default is 50.
• The percentage of free space to remain after shrinking. The default is 10.

• NoTrunc—(Optional) Returns freed space to operating system.

Specifies the instance of Microsoft SQL Server to connect to. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• server_name
• server_name\instance_name

If no server is specified, the LiteSpeed command-line utility will connect to the default instance of SQL Server on the local computer.

This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Specifies self-contained backup set.
• 1—Appends data to an existing full backup file.

For more information, see Fast Compression.

Specifies the last differential backup size to last full backup size ratio. When exceeding the specified ratio LiteSpeed performs a full backup.

Accepted values are 1-99, the default value is 35.

Specifies the minimum number of days since last full backup required to perform full backup. The default value is 14.

Determines the number of threads used for the backup. You will achieve the best results by specifying multiple threads, but the exact value depends on several factors including: processors available, affinity setting, compression level, encryption settings, IO device speed, and SQL Server responsiveness. The default is n-1 threads, where n is the number of processors.

Specifies the maximum CPU usage allowed. The argument accepts an integer value between 1 and 100. The default value is 100. This is the percentage of the total amount of CPU usage (across all enabled processors) available.

TIP: Before you start tuning the CPU Throttle or Affinity parameters to adjust backup performance, try limiting the number of threads. If you decide to use an affinity value other than default, it is recommended that you limit the threading as well. You may also want to consider using Adaptive Compression to maintain backup performance. For more information, see Adaptive Compression.

Specifies the TSM server LiteSpeed connects to during backups and restores. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM client owner user password. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM configuration file.

Specifies how long to wait for a TSM device.

Specifies the TSM management class. If not specified, LiteSpeed uses the default management class.

Specifies user login ID. Required if the connection type is not a trusted connection.

Login IDs are case-sensitive.

Specifies how to measure the amount of database to sample. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Rows
• Percent
• FullScan

Updates index and/or column statistics. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Columns
• Index
• All

Performs a restore verification on the backup file just created (if backup was successful). This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Last—Verifies last backup performed (can be either a full or differential).
• FullDiff—Verifies the last full backup and last differential is available.
• All—Verifies last full backup and all differentials since.

Performs a restore verification on the backup file just created (if backup was successful).

Specifies if LiteSpeed should wait and retry the read or write operation on failure. You can define retry options using the following parameters:

• DISK_RETRY_COUNT—Specifies the number of times that a specific operation will be retried on failure. The default is 4 retries, the maximum allowed setting is 1000.
• DISK_RETRY_WAIT—Specifies the number of seconds to wait immediately following a failure before retrying. The default is 15 seconds, the maximum allowed setting is 300.

NOTE: This functionality is only available for disk and cloud operations.

For more information, see Network Resilience.

Automatically selects the optimal compression level based on CPU usage or Disk IO. For more information, see Compression Methods.

You can tell Adaptive Compression to optimize backups either for size or for speed. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• Size
• Speed

Processor affinity designates specific processors to run LiteSpeed, while not allowing LiteSpeed to run on the remaining processors.

This argument accepts decimal values and hexadecimal values. If a value begins with "0x" it is interpreted as hexadecimal. A positive 64-bit integer value translates to a binary mask where a value of 1 designates the corresponding processor to be able to run the LiteSpeed process.

NOTE: 32-bit Windows is internally limited to a 32-bit mask.

For example, you need to select processors 2, 3, and 6 for use with LiteSpeed. Number the bits from the right to left. The rightmost bit represents the first processor. Set the second, third, and sixth bits to 1 and all other bits to 0. The result is binary 100110, which is decimal 38 or hexadecimal 0x26. Review the following for additional information:

Tip: Before you start tuning the CPU Throttle or Affinity parameters to adjust backup performance, try limiting the number of threads. If you decide to use an affinity value other than default, it is recommended that you limit the threading as well. You may also want to consider using Adaptive Compression to maintain backup performance. For more information, see Adaptive Compression.

Specifies the compression level for the backup. Valid values are 0 through 8. 0 bypasses the compression routines. The remaining values of 1 through 8 specify compression with increasingly aggressive computation. 2 is the default value for disk backups and 7 is the default value for cloud backups.

When choosing a compression level, it is best to try various options using your equipment and data to determine the best option for your environment. Use the Backup Analyzer to test the performance of different compression levels. For more information, see Test Optimal Backup Settings.

NOTE: If both the compression level and Adaptive Compression option are passed in, LiteSpeed will not error out and will select and use Adaptive Compression.

Creates a Double Click Restore executable. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 1—Creates one Double-Click Restore executable file. Note the following warning: The executable may be greater than 4GB for large databases. Windows Server is unable to run executable files larger than 4GB. However, the file will be convertible/restorable by LiteSpeed file.
• 2—Creates a Double Click Restore loader in the same location. (Default)

For more information, see Double Click Restore Executables.

Specifies encryption level. Works in conjunction with the Key (K) parameter. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—40-bit RC2

• 1—56 bit RC2

• 2—112 bit RC2

• 3—128 bit RC2

• 4—168 bit 3DES

• 5—128 bit RC4

• 6—128 bit AES

• 7—192 bit AES

• 8—256 bit AES

• 9—MS_AES_128

• 10—MS_AES_192

• 11—MS_AES_256

Specifies the date and time when the backup expires. LiteSpeed will not overwrite this file until expiration datetime is passed. This argument accepts one of the following formats:

• yyyy-mm-dd
• yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Specifies if LiteSpeed should wait and retry the read or write operation on failure. You can define retry options using the following parameters:

• DISK_RETRY_COUNT—Specifies the number of times that a specific operation will be retried on failure. The default is 4 retries, the maximum allowed setting is 1000.
• DISK_RETRY_WAIT—Specifies the number of seconds to wait immediately following a failure before retrying. The default is 15 seconds, the maximum allowed setting is 300.

NOTE: This functionality is only available for disk and cloud operations.

For more information, see Network Resilience.

Creates a log file. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Logging off.

• 1 or any odd value—Logging on. Log file is removed on success.

• 2 or any even value—Logging on.

The default output directory is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs (or C:\ProgramData\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs) (or C:\ProgramData\Quest Software\LiteSpeed\SQL Server\Logs). To log to a different directory run this utility with the following argument: --trace logpath = "path".

For more information, see Configure Logging in LiteSpeed.

Generates a map file during a backup for Object Level Recovery. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—False (default)
• 1—True

Re-initializes (overwrites and replaces) the target backup files. For TSM backups, this will create the TSM object and version the backup based on the retention policy. The argument accept the values:

• 0 (appends the backup to an existing backup file)
• 1 (overwrite the existing target backup file)

Specifies the priority of the LiteSpeed process compared to other processes running on the same server. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• -1—Below Normal

• 0—Normal (Default)

• 1—AboveNormal

• 2—High

Specifies a number of days to retain the backup. LiteSpeed will not overwrite this file for this number of days. 

Displays the syntax summary of the LiteSpeed command-line utility.

Location and name of the source backup/restore file device(s). You can also specify a UNC path.

For TSM backups and TSM archives, this argument accepts the following formats:

• tsmbkp:<filespace>\<high>\<low>
• tsmarc:<filespace>\<high>\<low>

For more information, see Examples.

Tip: Multiple -E parameters are used for stripe files (Example 2). Converting multiple files to a single file is accomplished by running the commands more than once (Example 3).

Specifies the particular backup to use when recasting, restoring, extracting or reading from files with multiple appended backups. You can run xp_restore_headeronly to query the files contained within the backup set given by backup_file_name.

Password/key used to decrypt backup. Passwords are case-sensitive.

Initializes the media on the device. This argument only applies to tape backups. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Do not format (default)

• 1—Write new header

• 2—Long erase / write new header

• 3—Low level controller format / write new header

NOTE: Any successful format operation (values 1, 2, and 3; not all are available to all drive types) lays down a LiteSpeed tape header that will identify this tape as containing LiteSpeed backups. Using @init=1 (or -I in the command line) will not lay down a tape header.

Applies only to backing up and restoring tape. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Leave the tape unwound (default)

• 1—Rewind the tape after writing/reading

Applies to tape backups and restores. This argument accepts one of the following values:

• 0—Keep tape loaded (default)

• 1—Unload and eject tape from the drive after operation

Specifies a temporary directory for use with Object Level Recovery. Use this argument when the default Windows temp directory does not have enough free disk space for the restore process.

Location and name of the target backup/restore file device(s). You can supply multiple instances of this argument.

Examples:

UNC Path: \\servername\share\path\filename

Local path: c:\filedirectory\filename 

NOTE: You cannot use the same location for the source and target files if you want to recast files with the same names.

Specifies the maximum CPU usage allowed. The argument accepts an integer value between 1 and 100. The default value is 100. This is the percentage of the total amount of CPU usage (across all enabled processors) available.

TIP: Before you start tuning the CPU Throttle or Affinity parameters to adjust backup performance, try limiting the number of threads. If you decide to use an affinity value other than default, it is recommended that you limit the threading as well. You may also want to consider using Adaptive Compression to maintain backup performance. For more information, see Adaptive Compression.

Specifies the TSM server LiteSpeed connects to during backups and restores. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

Specifies the TSM client owner user password. Not required, if specified in the options file or if backing up with the Passwordaccess Generate option.

DSMI_DIR path if needed.

DSMI_LOG path.

Defines the TSM filespace, high level and low level. This argument accepts the following format:

tsm_filespace\tsm_high_level\tsm_low_level

where:

• tsm_filespace - is the logical space on the TSM server that contains a group of files. It can be the drive label name or UNC name.

• tsm_high_level - specifies the directory path in which the file belongs.

• tsm_low_level - specifies the actual name of the file.

NOTE: You may only store one item at the location specified by this argument. It is not possible to append an object to this location. You can use the -I command-line argument or @init to back up to a non-unique location.

Log name.

Specifies the TSM management class. If not specified, LiteSpeed uses the default management class.