Purging old backup files by using forfiles windows tool

It is well know that most backup strategies include a step to purge backup files to keep the most recent backups in the database server so that the disk space can be used properly. It is of paramount importance to schedule this task inside a SQL job in order to avoid running out of space. Today I am going to share a script to do that that uses forfiles windows tool via cmdshell. This script is within a stored procedure which has some input paramaters such as the database name, backup type, drive, and retention days.

USE [master] 
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_DBA_Backup_FilesCleanup] (
@DatabaseName VARCHAR(200),
@BackupType VARCHAR(100),
@DriveName VARCHAR(1), 
@RetentionDays VARCHAR(4))
WITH ENCRYPTION
AS 
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON

    DECLARE @strcmd VARCHAR(4000)
    DECLARE @directory VARCHAR(4000)
    
    SET @directory=@DriveName + ':\SQLBackup\' + @DatabaseName --+ '\'  + @BackupType 
    SET @strcmd='forfiles /p "'+@directory+'" /s /d -'+ @RetentionDays +' /c "cmd /c del /q @path"'
      -- print @strcmd
    EXEC master.dbo.xp_cmdshell   @strcmd 
   
   SET NOCOUNT OFF
END
GO

The logic deletes old backups files located on a path with this pattern '<Drive>:\<BackupDirectory>\<DatabaseName>\<BackupType>'. For instance, if we want to delete Full + Diff + Log Backup Files of the database 'MyDB' older than one week and supposing that those backups files are located on the drive 'G' then the full path would be 'G:\SQLBackup\MyDB\Full' for Full Backups, 'G:\SQLBackup\MyDB\Diff' for Differential Backups, and 'G:\SQLBackup\MyDB\Log' for Log Backups. So, using the following stored procedure and according to the example above, we should execute it with the following parameters:

USE [master] 
GO
EXEC dbo.sp_DBA_Backup_FilesCleanup  @DatabaseName='MyDB' , @BackupType='FULL',@DriveName='G', @RetentionDays='7'
GO
EXEC dbo.sp_DBA_Backup_FilesCleanup  @DatabaseName='MyDB' , @BackupType='Diff',@DriveName='G', @RetentionDays='7'
GO
EXEC dbo.sp_DBA_Backup_FilesCleanup  @DatabaseName='MyDB' , @BackupType='Log',@DriveName='G', @RetentionDays='7'

That is all for now. Let me know any remarks you may have. Stay tuned.

Ports and Protocols Used by Microsoft SQL Server

Naturally, I have been asked many times about ports used by SQL Server services and to be honest sometimes I took me some time to reply because there is a great number of ports and protocols and it is not easy to remember them quickly. Not all of us have to learn everything by rote, so thinking about it, I made the decision of sharing the following lists of useful ports and protocols so that you can have them at hand when needed.

Ports and Protocols Used by Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Service / Purpose	Protocol	Port
Analysis Services	TCP	2725
Client connections when "hide server" option enabled	TCP	2433
Clients using Named Pipes over Netbios	TCP	139/445
Microsoft SQL Monitor port	UDP	1434
OLAP Services connections from downlevel clients OLAP Services 7.0	TCP	2393/2394
SQL over TCP **	TCP	1433
Standard URL for a report server (Reporting Services)	TCP	80 HTTP /443 SSL
Ports and Protocols Used by Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Service / Purpose	Protocol	Port
Analysis Services connections via HTTP (default)	TCP	80
Analysis Services connections via HTTPS (default)	TCP	443
Clients using Named Pipes over Netbios	TCP	137/138/139/445
Dedicated Administrator Connection	TCP	1434 by default (local port). But this port is assigned dynamically by SQL Server during startup.
Reporting services on Windows 2003/2008/Vista (default)	TCP	80
Reporting services on Windows XP SP2	TCP	8080
SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services	TCP	2383
SQL Server Browser Service	TCP	2382
SQL Server Integration Services (MSDTSServer)	TCP	135
SQL Server Resolution Protocol	TCP	1434
SQL over TCP (default instance)	TCP	1433
SQL over TCP (named instances)	TCP	1434 / 1954
Ports and Protocols Used by Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2012/2014/2016/2017
Service / Purpose	Protocol	Port
Analysis Services connections via HTTP (default)	TCP	80
Analysis Services connections via HTTPS (default)	TCP	443
Clustering	UDP	135
Clustering	TCP	135 (RPC) / 3343 (Cluster Network Driver) / 445 SMB / 139 NetBIOS / 5000-5099 (RPC) / 8011-8031 (RPC)
Database Mirroring	TCP	There is no default port for this service. Use the following T-SQL statements to identify which ports are in use: SELECT name, port FROM sys.tcp_endpoints.
Dedicated Administrator Connection	TCP	1434 by default (local port). But this port is assigned dynamically by SQL Server during startup.
Filestream	TCP	139 y 445
Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC)	TCP	135
Reporting services Web Services	TCP	80
Reporting Services configured for use through HTTPS	TCP	1433
Service Broker	TCP	4022
SQL Server Analysis Services	TCP	2382 (SQL Server Browser Services for SSAS port)
		2383 (Clusters will listen only on this port)
SQL Server Browser Service (Database Engine)	UDP	1434. Might be required when using named instances.
SQL Server Browser Service	TCP	2382
SQL Server default instance running over an HTTPS endpoint.	TCP	443
SQL Server Instance (Database Engine) running over an HTTP endpoint.	TCP	80 y 443 (SSL)
SQL Server Integration Services	TCP	135 (DCOM)
SQL over TCP (default instance)	TCP	1433
Transact-SQL Debugger	TCP	135
Windows Management Instrumentation	TCP	135 (DCOM)

That is all for now. I hope you find this post useful. Let me know any remarks you may have. Stay tuned.