In prior versions of SQL Server, you had what were called "dump devices." These devices were defined as aliases or pointers to physical locations on local hard disks, tape, or pipe devices. You added these devices through the sp_addumpdevice system stored procedure. The devices consisted of a "logical" name, which was used to refer to the device during LOAD and DUMP statements (logical names are used in BACKUP and RESTORE statements in version 7.0), and a "physical" name, which established a path to the device's system or network location.

In v7.0, you can also add individual dump devices, now called backup devices, either through the enterprise manager or through sp_addumpdevice system procedure.

Using an example from Books On Line, observe how you can bypass this logical device and back up straight to a physical file. The device has been created as follows.

The differences in backing up to either the logical or physical names are that the former requires a bit of administration in creating the predefined logical device and the latter does not. By backing up to a physical file, you bypass this added administration step, but you sacrifice some ease in readability and typing.