Back up a site collection in SharePoint Server 2010

Using Windows PowerShell

You can use Windows PowerShell to back up a site collection manually or as part of a script that can be run at scheduled intervals.

To back up a site collection by using Windows PowerShell

1. Verify that you meet the following minimum requirements: See Add-SPShellAdmin.
   
2. On the Start menu, click All Programs.
   
3. Click Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products.
   
4. Click SharePoint 2010 Management Shell.
   
5. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt type the following command:
   

   Backup-SPSite -Identity <Site collection name> -Path <backup file> [-Force] [-NoSiteLock] [-UseSqlSnapshot] [-Verbose]
   

Use Central Administration

You can use Central Administration to back up a site collection.

To back up a site collection by using Central Administration

1. Verify that the user account performing this procedure is a member of the Farm Administrators group. Additionally, verify that the Windows SharePoint Services Timer V4 service has Full Control permissions on the backup folder.
   
2. In Central Administration, on the Home page, in the Backup and Restore section, click Perform a site collection backup.
   
3. On the Site collection backup page, select the site collection from the Site Collection list.
   
4. Type the local path of the backup file in the Filename box.
   
5. Click Start Backup.
   
6. You can see status of job in monitor tab.