Performance Tuning for SQL Server Backup and Restore

Depending on the size of your database, select the backup method that is the best tradeoff between backup and restore time. For example, full backups take the longest to perform, but are the fastest to restore. Differential backups are overall faster than full backups, but take longer to restore. Incremental (transaction log) backups are the fastest, but are generally the slowest to restore. [7.0, 2000, 2005]

*****

If you are backing up your databases directly over a network (not really recommended as it hurts performance), one way to boost throughput is to perform the backup over a dedicated network which is devoted to backups and restores only. All devices should be on the same high-speed switch. Avoid going over a router when backing up over a network, as they can greatly slow down backup speed. [6.5, 7.0, 2000, 2005]