How to map another server through SQL Server Management Studio

Question

I am trying to map another server by giving the command

EXEC xp_cmdshell 'NET USE H:\568.256.8.358\backup_147 1234abc /USER:cranew /PERSISTENT:yes'

I got an error with this network path not found

But I am able to map another server manually.

Please do help me in sorting out this.

Answer 1

This is more of a NET USE question than a SSMS/SQL Server question.

NET USE has the syntax:

net use [{DeviceName | *}] [\\ComputerName\ShareName[\volume]] [{Password | *}]] [/user:[DomainName]UserName] [/user:[DottedDomainName]UserName] [/user: [UserName@DottedDomainName] [/savecred] [/smartcard] [{/delete | /persistent:{yes | no}}]

So I expect your command to look like this:

EXEC xp_cmdshell 'NET USE H: \\568.256.8.358\backup_147 1234abc /USER:cranew /PERSISTENT:yes'

Answer 2

Don't map network drives and expect them to be there. Just backup to the network path directly.

Using mapped drives gets tricky fast as you start to make assumptions that the drive letter will be available next time. What happens when you add another hard drive to the server later and want to use that drive letter? What happens when Windows disconnects the drive to reclaim the network socket?