Database and log backups not deleting

We have had an issue for a long time. We have the
maintenance plan set to backup databases and log files
and to delete the old ones after 2 days. The backups run
fine and restores have been tested. We have never been
able to get the maintenance plan to automatically delete
the backups after the 2 days as it is supposed to do. We
are running Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3 with SQL
2000 SP3. It continues to be a problem as we
consistently run out of disk space due to too many
backups stored on our local disk.We had the same problems.
Make sure you do not have RETAINDAYS or EXPIRES in the backup.
One thing I found was that a backup does not run for the same duration each
time,
so a backup that needs to delete older than 2 days sees the "2 day old
backup"
scenario as EXACTLY 24 hours or greater. The 2 days is based on the end
time.
So, if the 2 day old backup ran 15 minutes - 2:00am to 2:15am and
the new backup runs less time 2:00am to 2:13am then it is not 24 hours.
it is 47 hours 58 minutes. Voila NO DELETE. I worked around this by
DELETING Backups more than 36 HOURS old.
Hope this helps.
--
FrankM
You know you are in trouble when
the learning curve turns into a death spiral
"chuck" <ccrofford@.adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:082901c35dad$1a92a790$a501280a@.phx.gbl...
> We have had an issue for a long time. We have the
> maintenance plan set to backup databases and log files
> and to delete the old ones after 2 days. The backups run
> fine and restores have been tested. We have never been
> able to get the maintenance plan to automatically delete
> the backups after the 2 days as it is supposed to do. We
> are running Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3 with SQL
> 2000 SP3. It continues to be a problem as we
> consistently run out of disk space due to too many
> backups stored on our local disk.|||In addition to Franks wonderful suggestions you may want to read this:
-- Log files don't delete --
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q303292
This is likely to be either a permissions problem or a sharing violation
problem. The maintenance plan is run as a job, and jobs are run by the
SQLServerAgent service.
Permissions:
1. Determine the startup account for the SQLServerAgent service
(Start|Programs|Administrative tools|Services|SQLServerAgent|Startup). This
account is the security context for jobs, and thus the maintenance plan.
2. If SQLServerAgent is started using LocalSystem (as opposed to a domain
account) then skip step 3.
3. On that box, log onto NT as that account. Using Explorer, attempt to
delete an expired backup. If that succeeds then go to Sharing Violation
section.
4. Log onto NT with an account that is an administrator and use Explorer to
look at the Properties|Security of the folder (where the backups reside)
and ensure the SQLServerAgent startup account has Full Control. If the
SQLServerAgent startup account is LocalSystem, then the account to consider
is SYSTEM.
5. In NT, if an account is a member of an NT group, and if that group has
Access is Denied, then that account will have Access is Denied, even if
that account is also a member of the Administrators group. Thus you may
need to check group permissions (if the Startup Account is a member of a
group).
6. Keep in mind that permissions (by default) are inherited from a parent
folder. Thus, if the backups are stored in C:\bak, and if someone had
denied permission to the SQLServerAgent startup account for C:\, then
C:\bak will inherit access is denied.
Sharing violation:
This is likely to be rooted in a timing issue, with the most likely cause
being another scheduled process (such as NT Backup or Anti-Virus software)
having the backup file open at the time when the SQLServerAgent (i.e., the
maintenance plan job) tried to delete it.
1. Download filemon and handle from www.sysinternals.com.
2. I am not sure whether filemon can be scheduled, or you might be able to
use NT scheduling services to start filemon just before the maintenance
plan job is started, but the filemon log can become very large, so it would
be best to start it some short time before the maintenance plan starts.
3. Inspect the filemon log for another process that has that backup file
open (if your lucky enough to have started filemon before this other
process grabs the backup folder), and inspect the log for the results when
the SQLServerAgent agent attempts to open that same file.
4. Schedule the job or that other process to do their work at different
times.
5. You can use the handle utility if you are around at the time when the
job is scheduled to run.
If the backup files are going to a \\share or a mapped drive (as opposed to
local drive), then you will need to modify the above (with respect to where
the tests and utilities are run).
Finally, inspection of the maintenance plan's history report might be
useful.
Thanks,
Bill Hollinshead
Microsoft, SQL Server
Andrew J. Kelly
SQL Server MVP
"chuck" <ccrofford@.adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:082901c35dad$1a92a790$a501280a@.phx.gbl...
> We have had an issue for a long time. We have the
> maintenance plan set to backup databases and log files
> and to delete the old ones after 2 days. The backups run
> fine and restores have been tested. We have never been
> able to get the maintenance plan to automatically delete
> the backups after the 2 days as it is supposed to do. We
> are running Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3 with SQL
> 2000 SP3. It continues to be a problem as we
> consistently run out of disk space due to too many
> backups stored on our local disk.