sqmOlaBackupBuilder
Part of the powershelldba.de SQL Server toolset by Uwe Janke.
PowerShell module with a WinForms GUI to click together calls of
Ola Hallengren's dbo.DatabaseBackup with all 75 parameters
of the current release (2026-06-29). Every field has its help text, the command is rebuilt on
every change, and the parameter combination is checked live against the same rules the
procedure itself enforces, so mistakes show up while you click and not at 2 a.m. in the
Agent job history.
No dbatools or other module dependency: the optional server connection uses
System.Data.SqlClient, so it runs on locked-down servers without PSGallery access.
Works in Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7.
Project page: powershelldba.de/sqmolabackupbuilder ·
Handbook (German): docs/AdminHandbuch.md, as
PDF ·
Slides: presentation
Start
.\Start-sqmOlaBackupBuilder.cmd # straight from the folder, no install
Show-sqmOlaBackupGui # after Install.cmd
Show-sqmOlaBackupGui -SqlInstance SQL01 # connect right away
What the GUI does
- Visual Studio dark theme like the other powershelldba.de tools, with VS-style syntax
highlighting of the generated command.
- All parameters in 9 categories (navigation list like the Visual Studio options dialog): basics, target and retention, compression and performance,
encryption, conditions, file names and directories, options, third-party software, execution.
Fields left at "(Standard)" or empty are not written, so the procedure default applies.
Set parameters are shown in bold, each category shows how many are set.
- Help for the focused field below the tabs, plus tooltips.
- Pickers: database / availability group selection with keywords, include and exclude
lists (after connecting), folder picker, token menu for
@DirectoryStructure and @FileName.
- Presets: user databases FULL / DIFF / LOG, system databases, ad-hoc COPY_ONLY,
striping and tuning, dry run. A preset keeps the target directory you already entered.
- Live validation of more than 100 rules from the procedure: mutually exclusive parameters,
value ranges, BackupType restrictions, third-party only options, encryption requirements,
{FileNumber} with multiple files, cleanup tokens, and more. Double-click a finding to jump
to the field.
- Output formats
- T-SQL
EXECUTE statement
sqlcmd command line in the style of Ola's CmdExec job steps- PowerShell with
Invoke-DbaQuery
- complete SQL Agent job script (category, owner, output file in SQLLOGDIR, daily / weekly /
interval schedule); refuses to overwrite an existing job
- Optional server connection (Windows or SQL authentication): database and AG lists,
certificates, asymmetric keys and credentials as dropdowns, detected Ola version.
- Dry run: runs the command with
@Execute = 'N'. Ola then checks the server dependent
rules too (edition, version, directories, certificates) and only prints the BACKUP commands.
- Create job directly on the server after a confirmation prompt.
- Copy, save as file (UTF-8 with BOM), save and load the whole configuration as JSON
(
@EncryptionKey is deliberately never saved).
Scripting without the GUI
$p = @{ Databases = 'USER_DATABASES'; BackupType = 'FULL'; Verify = 'Y'; Checksum = 'Y'
CleanupTime = 168; LogToTable = 'Y' }
Test-sqmOlaBackupParameter -Parameter $p # offline rule check
New-sqmOlaBackupCommand -Parameter $p # T-SQL
New-sqmOlaBackupCommand -Parameter $p -Format Sqlcmd
New-sqmOlaBackupCommand -Parameter $p -Format AgentJob -ScheduleType Daily -ScheduleTime 01:00 -JobOutputFile
Tests
.\Tests\Test-sqmOlaBackupBuilder.ps1
.\Tests\Test-sqmOlaBackupBuilder.ps1 -MaintenanceSolution .\MaintenanceSolution.sql # compare with a new Ola release
.\Tests\Test-sqmOlaBackupBuilder.ps1 -SqlInstance SQL01 # plus live dry run
The -MaintenanceSolution switch compares the parameter list and order with an Ola script, so
a new Ola release with new parameters is detected immediately.
License
MIT. Ola Hallengren's SQL Server Maintenance Solution is a separate project under its own
license and is not included.
