---
title: "Copy Databases to Other Servers | Microsoft Docs"
ms.custom: ""
ms.date: "03/14/2017"
ms.prod: "sql-server-2016"
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ms.technology: 
  - "database-engine"
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helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "servers [SQL Server], copying databases between"
  - "bulk exporting [SQL Server], between servers"
  - "database copying [SQL Server]"
  - "migrating databases [SQL Server]"
  - "moving databases"
  - "copying databases"
  - "bulk importing [SQL Server], between servers"
ms.assetid: 978406d6-a3c8-4902-b1f4-4ced75234be5
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author: "JennieHubbard"
ms.author: "jhubbard"
manager: "jhubbard"
---
# Copy Databases to Other Servers
  It is sometimes useful to copy a database from one computer to another, whether for testing, checking consistency, developing software, running reports, creating a mirror database, or, possibly, to make the database available to remote-branch operations.  
  
 There are several ways to copy a database:  
  
-   Using the Copy Database Wizard  
  
     You can use the Copy Database Wizard to copy or move databases between servers or to upgrade a [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] database to a later version. For more information, see [Use the Copy Database Wizard](../../relational-databases/databases/use-the-copy-database-wizard.md).  
  
-   Restoring a database backup  
  
     To copy an entire database, you can use the BACKUP and RESTORE [!INCLUDE[tsql](../../includes/tsql-md.md)] statements. Typically, restoring a full backup of a database is used to copy the database from one computer to another for a variety of reasons. For information on using backup and restore to copy a database, see [Copy Databases with Backup and Restore](../../relational-databases/databases/copy-databases-with-backup-and-restore.md).  
  
    > [!NOTE]  
    >  To set up a mirror database for database mirroring, you must restore the database onto the mirror server by using RESTORE DATABASE *<database_name>* WITH NORECOVERY. For more information, see [Prepare a Mirror Database for Mirroring &#40;SQL Server&#41;](../../database-engine/database-mirroring/prepare-a-mirror-database-for-mirroring-sql-server.md).  
  
-   Using the Generate Scripts Wizard to publish databases  
  
     You can use the Generate Scripts Wizard to transfer a database from a local computer to a Web hosting provider. For more information, see [Generate and Publish Scripts Wizard](../../relational-databases/scripting/generate-and-publish-scripts-wizard.md).