Table of Contents
[V7] ISSUE: The length of the device name provided exceeds supported limit (maximum length is:259) (MS SQL database backup)
Article ID:
5323
Reviewed:
2018-03-21
Product Version:
AhsayOBM: 7.3.0.0 to 7.x
OS: Windows
ATTENTION 1st January, 2022: v7 officially End-of-Life [details]
Problem Description
When performing a MS SQL database backup (ODBC backup mode), the following error message is received in the backup report:
| No. | Type | Timestamp | Log |
| * | ... | ... | ... |
| * | info | ... | [Start] Backing up "SQL_hostname\...\long_db_name" ... to "temp_path\long_db_name" |
| * | warn | YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm:ss |
[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]Invalid device name. The length of the device name provided exceeds supported limit (maximum length is:259). Reissue the BACKUP statement with a valid device name. |
| * | ... | ... | ... |
Cause
This is a warning message returned by the SQL server, suggesting that length of the directory path to the backup device (e.g. temporary folder path plus the database name) exceeded 259 characters.
Note:
The maximum number of characters is a limit imposed by the SQL server and not AhsayOBM.
Resolution
To resolve the issue:
- Option 1 - Modify the temporary directory for storing backup files to a shorter directory path:
or - Option 2 - Rename the database to a shorter name if possible.
Refer to the following document for instruction: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/databases/rename-a-database
or - Option 3 - Create a new MS SQL Server backup set in VSS backup mode:
Keywords
sql, odbc, exceed, exceeds, exceeded, max, maximum, char, character