Appending Backup Sets to Existing Media

Backups from the same or different databases, performed at different times, can be stored on the same media. Additionally, data other than Microsoft® SQL Server™ data can be stored on the same media, such as Microsoft Windows NT® file backups. By appending a new backup set to existing media, the previous contents of the media remain intact, and the new backup is written after the end of the last backup on the media.

Appending can occur only at the end of the media. For example, if a media contains five backup sets, it is not possible to skip the first three backup sets to overwrite the fourth backup set with a new backup set.

By default, SQL Server always appends new backups to media.

To append a new backup to existing media