Read and delete files in sql server - sql

Question

I am trying to read and delete any specific file in sql server .
Scenario
When i am trying to publish my database using a Post Deployment Script , it automatically takes backup of database in default Backup directory . Now i am getting that folder bigger day by day . Now i want to write a sql job that will execute and will delete all bakcup files except last two . Is this possible and also is this appropriate to do in sql . If no then why ?

Answer 1

You can create SQL Job to delete file from file system.
First of all, you must have SQL Agent service started.
Next step is creating powershell script for deleting desired files. Place script on, by example, D:\Test\ folder and give a name to script like DeleteFile.ps1. Edit script, and write next code:
$files = Get-ChildItem D:\Test *.txt | Select Name, CreationTime, FullName | Sort CreationTime
for ($i=0; $i -lt ($files.Count -2); $i++) {
Remove-Item $files[$i].FullName
}
and then save and close editor.
Then, under SQL Agent tree, right click on Jobs folder and choose New Job. On dialog window, in General tab, give a name to job, and then on left side of the window, choose Steps, and then New.
On new dialog window, in section Type, choose Operating system (CmdExec). In field Command, just call powershell script you create for deleting desired files:
D:\Test\DeleteFile.ps1
and click OK to create job.
When done, to test deleting files, right click on created job, and then choose Start Job as Step option.
NOTE
It is suggested to test all this work on some test machine before put it in production. Files which I delete is .txt files, but you just need to change code to map .bak files. Of course, you can change location of files.

Answer 2

Now i am getting that folder bigger day by day . Now i want to write a sql job that will execute and will delete all bakcup files except last two
The default option when you take backup is to append the current backup file with previous one. The option is (NOINIT). Please see backup documentation What you have to do is add INIT option while taking the backup, this would overwrite the previous backup.
If your scenario is such that you just want to remove old backup files this can be done by writing custom script. Fortunately you have Ola Hallengren script for this. I strongly suggest you to first read FAQ's and excample. reading examples wll make things clear for you as to how the script works