http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckwoody/archive/2010/03/30/backup-meta-data.aspxI'm working on a PowerShell script to show me the trending durations of my backup activities. The first thing I need is the data, so I looked at the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio, and found a report that suited my needs, so I pulleden-USTelligent Evolution Platform Developer Build (Build: 5.6.50428.7875)http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckwoody/archive/2010/03/30/backup-meta-data.aspx#10139856Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:58:32 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10139856BuckWoody<p>Alan - feel free!</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10139856" width="1" height="1">http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckwoody/archive/2010/03/30/backup-meta-data.aspx#10139844Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:21:08 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10139844Alan Craig<p>Love the Disclaimer. May I use it on my blogs? Proper credit will be given.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10139844" width="1" height="1">http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckwoody/archive/2010/03/30/backup-meta-data.aspx#10001096Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:44:13 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10001096mbourgon<p><a rel="nofollow" target="_new" href="http://thebakingdba.blogspot.com/2008/01/maintenance-listing-your-actual-backups.html">http://thebakingdba.blogspot.com/2008/01/maintenance-listing-your-actual-backups.html</a></p> <div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10001096" width="1" height="1">http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckwoody/archive/2010/03/30/backup-meta-data.aspx#10001095Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:43:41 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10001095mbourgon<p>Did something similar using the system tables, where I use them to see what backups we actually have on disk, as opposed to what we _should_ have. &nbsp;(see the linked URL - basically, gets a directory list, then scans it using xp_cmdshell, and compares the two) &nbsp;</p> <p>Another use: size trending. &nbsp;The database size (pre-compression, IIRC) is in there, which means you could query back quite a while and show how much each database is growing. &nbsp;Useful for capacity planning. &nbsp;</p> <p>Also, you could use them for documentation, since you have a listing for where every database backup resides.</p> <p>There's a plethora of uses for these tables.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10001095" width="1" height="1">