SharePoint STSADM Backup and Restore Commands

The following are examples of different STSADM commands you can use to back up and restore various components of your SharePoint environment.

A full farm backup followed by a restore:

stsadm -o backup -url http://app01/ -directory \\app01\sharepointbackups -BackupMethod Full -Quiet
stsadm -o restore -url http://app01/ -filename \\app01\sharepointbackups –Overwrite

Back up and restore configuration information only:

stsadm -o backup -url http://app01 -directory \\app01\sharepointbackups -configurationonly -quiet
stsadm -o restore -url http://app01 -filename \\app01\sharepointbackups -configurationonly –quiet

Back up and restore a service application:

stsadm -o backup -directory \\app01\sharepointbackups -quiet -backupmethod full -item "Excel Services"
stsadm -o restore -directory \\app01\sharepointbackups -item "Excel Services" –quiet

Back up and restore a site collection:

stsadm -o backup -url http://app01/portalsitecollection -filename \\app01\SharePointBackups\portalsitecollection.bak -overwrite
stsadm -o restore -url http://app01/portalsitecollection -filename \\app01\SharePointBackups\portalsitecollection.bak –overwrite

Export and import a subsite, list, or library:

stsadm -o export –url http://app01/sites/contosoportal/Shared%20documents –filename \\app01\sharepointbackups\SD.bak -quiet -overwrite
stsadm -o import –url http://app01/sites/contosoportal/Shared%20documents –filename \\app01\sharepointbackups\SD.bak -quiet

See also example of performing a SharePoint 2010 Backup and Restore using Powershell.