How to backup SharePoint site collection using PowerShell?

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Microsoft SharePoint is amongst one of the most used cloud services by large enterprises as well as small organizations. The benefit of using SharePoint is that it provides multiple features and functionalities, such as Document Library, Sites, etc. In SharePoint, a site collection is a collection of various sites, each site collection containing a single top-level site and subsites.

Though it is recommended to backup the entire SharePoint farm, you can back up SharePoint site collection as well. It is crucial to back up SharePoint site collection so that during any disaster, your data remains safe. But, backup of SharePoint site collection is a bit complicated, as you need to use PowerShell cmdlets or Central administration for manual backup, which is often not an ideal choice for non-technical users.

In this article, we will discuss how you can backup the SharePoint site collection with SharePoint Management PowerShell commands. But before that, there are some things to keep in mind.

Things to know before SharePoint site collection backup using PowerShell

To ensure an interruption-free backup process, we recommend applying the below-mentioned steps before starting the site collection backup process.

• Setup the backup environment: Create a folder on your local system or network where you want to store the backup.
• Do not modify the site during backup: It is recommended to stop tasks like adding user to SharePoint site or adding/removing data from a site. Such modification will interfere with the backup.

  Note: As a security measure, SharePoint temporarily set site to Read-Only during backup. After the backup, the site status will be set to normal.

• Backup in noncrucial hours: Backup will consume server resources. Therefore, perform the backup when your server use is at its lowest to avoid any site performance issues.

Ways to backup SharePoint site collection?

SharePoint site collection backups are essential for keeping a data backup of all your SharePoint Sites to secure your data from malfunctioning or damage. Here, we are mentioning a reliable way to backup your SharePoint Sites using PowerShell command and a professional software to streamline your backup process:

1. Using PowerShell to backup site collection

It requires a brief procedure to backup SharePoint site collection using PowerShell application. Execute the steps mentioned below with accuracy to avoid any issues.

1. Verify the below-mentioned memberships on the SQL Server instance:

   securityadmin fixed server role
   db_owner fixed database role on all databases that are to be updated
   Administrator group on the server on which you need to run the PowerShell cmdlets
   As an administrator, you can use the Add-SPShellAdmin cmdlet to grant permission to use SharePoint Server cmdlets.

   Note: Without these permissions, you cannot perform the backup. Thus, contact your administrator and request permissions.

2. Now, start the SharePoint Management Shell.
3. When the PowerShell command prompt, use the below cmdlets:

   Backup-SPSite -Identity -Path [-Force] [-NoSiteLock] [-UseSqlSnapshot] [-Verbose]

   Note: To overwrite a previously used backup file, use Force parameter. Use the NoSiteLock parameter to keep the read-only lock from being set on the site collection during the backup.

   But, using the NoSiteLock parameter can lead to certain data corruption in SharePoint site collection during backup. So, use the following command to display site collection GUID or URL at the PowerShell command prompt:

   Get-SPSite | format-list -property id,url

If your Database server is using an Enterprise edition of SQL Server, then it is recommended to use the UseSqlSnapshot parameter for the backup of the SharePoint. With the help of this parameter, you can export sites or lists even from these snapshots. You can learn about how to use SQL snap-shots from the Microsoft site.

2. Backup SharePoint site collection with a professional tool

One thing is for sure: the manual method is very complicated and cannot be used by every user. Therefore, we recommend using a third-party tool like Kernel Migration for SharePoint. The SharePoint Migration tool is embedded with highly optimized algorithms to precisely scan and perform site collection backup. Use the tool to download your SharePoint site collection to your system and then move it to another drive or server. The tool also allows to migrate site collection between content databases.

The tool ensures complete data integrity and preserves original file/folder hierarchy. The transfer is not limited to just data, but it can also migrate SharePoint site permissions easily. The tool also allows for direct migration of old SharePoint server to the latest one. This is not possible with the manual methods.

Some prominent migrations possible with the tool are – migration of SharePoint 2010 to 2013, 2016, and 2019. Also, switching from SharePoint On-premises to Online, like the migration of SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint Online, can be done with the tool.

Conclusion

Backup of SharePoint site collection using PowerShell is challenging even for domain experts. Therefore, considering the complexity of the manual method, we recommend employing Kernel Migration for SharePoint. The tool can effortlessly take SharePoint & OneDrive backup along with user-defined configurations & permissions. You can even perform a SharePoint tenant-to-tenant migration with the tool. The tool offers a free trial version. Download it to see the unique capabilities of the tool.