Thursday, March 29, 2012

backup strategy for a 1000GB database

Hi,

Could anyone tell me the backup strategy for a 1000GB database?

Thank you!

Peter Wang

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!The size of the database is one consideration, but probably more important
is how much data loss and downtime you can afford in the event of a problem.
You really need to get this information first, so you can decide how often
to do full/differential/log backups. This will also help you to decide how
much money you can reasonably allocate to your backup/availability solution.
There is a lot of information in BOL in the section called "Desiging a
Backup and Restore Strategy".

If you have the database on a NAS or SAN already, you may be able to use
features of the hardware (some storage devices support MSSQL snapshot
backup/restore). On the other hand, backing up to multiple disk devices
might be a good choice, depending on your requirements and storage
configuration.

Finally, don't forget that as a rule, backing up is easier than restoring.
So also consider how easily your solution will allow you to restore a
database if you need to. It's hard to be specific, as a lot depends on your
environment and your application/user requirements.

Simon

"peter wang" <anonymous@.devdex.com> wrote in message
news:3ef88c70$0$201$75868355@.news.frii.net...
> Hi,
> Could anyone tell me the backup strategy for a 1000GB database?
> Thank you!
> Peter Wang
> *** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
> Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!

Backup Strategy Clarifications

Hello,
I just wanted to check if my backup strategy is on the right-track or not,
so that I can improve on it. I am using SQL 2000 SP4.
I have the following backup strategy in place: -
STEP 1: MODEL
==========
Database: model
Recovery Model: Full
Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:00
Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 2: MSDB
==========
Database: msdb
Recovery Model: Simple
Log Backup Frequency: N/A
Log Backup Mode: N/A
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05 (same time as model)
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 3: MASTER
===========
Database: msdb
Recovery Model: Full
Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:08
Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:10
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 4: TEMPDB
===========
Database: tempdb
Recovery Model: Simple
I am not doing any backups on this database!
STEP 5: LIVE
===========
Database: live
Recovery Model: Full
I am doing 2 types of Log backups on all User databases:
---
Type 1. Log Backup Frequency: Every 20 mins starting from 10 mins on the
hour (eg. 9:10 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:50 AM)
Type 1. Log Backup Mode: APPENDED (Not Overwritten!)
Type 2. Log Backup Frequency: Every Hour sharp on the hour (eg. 9:00 AM,
10:00 AM, 11:00 AM)
Type 2. Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
---
Database Backup Frequency: Every Hour but 5 mins on the hour (eg. 9:05 AM,
10:05 AM, 11:05 AM)
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
My reasoning was that I do frequent log backups (appended) every 20 mins
and do 1 log backup (overwritten) when it reaches the exact hour. Then
after 5 mins past the hour, do a Full Database backup (overwritten).
Please mention STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. to refer to the proper item and provide
your suggestions.
Thanks,
Sameer.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.comHi,
Your strategy is good enough, but instead of 2 types of transaction log
backups I recommend you to perform only one type of transaction log
backup, but reduce the frequency of trqansaction log backup to 10 Minutes.
Since you are performing the Transaction log backup it is not
required to a full database backup every hour. Full database backup once a
day is more thana enough:-
Steps:-
1. System Database backup strategy is good enough
2. For Live db
A. Schedule a full database backup at 02 AM
B. Schedule the Transaction log backup from 02:15 AM to 01:50 AM every 10
Minutes.
Best way is use the database Maintenence plan to create the jobs for this.
This will create unique transaction log backup files. You could also
enable house keeping mechanism.
Thanks
Hari
SQL SERVER MVP
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.nospam.SQLMonster.com> wrote in
message news:d0f492b8d6dd48f497b96708d471369d@.SQLMonster.com...
> Hello,
> I just wanted to check if my backup strategy is on the right-track or not,
> so that I can improve on it. I am using SQL 2000 SP4.
> I have the following backup strategy in place: -
>
> STEP 1: MODEL
> ==========> Database: model
> Recovery Model: Full
> Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:00
> Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 2: MSDB
> ==========> Database: msdb
> Recovery Model: Simple
> Log Backup Frequency: N/A
> Log Backup Mode: N/A
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05 (same time as model)
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 3: MASTER
> ===========> Database: msdb
> Recovery Model: Full
> Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:08
> Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:10
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 4: TEMPDB
> ===========> Database: tempdb
> Recovery Model: Simple
> I am not doing any backups on this database!
>
> STEP 5: LIVE
> ===========> Database: live
> Recovery Model: Full
> I am doing 2 types of Log backups on all User databases:
> ---
> Type 1. Log Backup Frequency: Every 20 mins starting from 10 mins on the
> hour (eg. 9:10 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:50 AM)
> Type 1. Log Backup Mode: APPENDED (Not Overwritten!)
>
> Type 2. Log Backup Frequency: Every Hour sharp on the hour (eg. 9:00 AM,
> 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM)
> Type 2. Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> ---
> Database Backup Frequency: Every Hour but 5 mins on the hour (eg. 9:05 AM,
> 10:05 AM, 11:05 AM)
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> My reasoning was that I do frequent log backups (appended) every 20 mins
> and do 1 log backup (overwritten) when it reaches the exact hour. Then
> after 5 mins past the hour, do a Full Database backup (overwritten).
>
> Please mention STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. to refer to the proper item and
> provide
> your suggestions.
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Thanks Hari but I have more questions: -
1. What is the best practice ? - Perform Log backup first and then Database
backup or vice-versa?
2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
should I change the order ?
3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
mins and Database backup once a day. What kind of backup mode should I use
for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
the Tran Log file ?
- If yes, how can I control the size automatically without performing a
shrink on the database (I read bad things about shrinking as it defragments
pages & disk)?
Thanks,
Sameer.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||> 2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
> sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
> should I change the order ?
I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because backup history is in msdb
and I want to have backup of latest backup history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent
sets msdb to simple recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think that
this is overkill, though.
> 3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
> mins and Database backup once a day.
Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to restore 24*6 = 144 log backups.
I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup perhaps every 2 hours.
> What kind of backup mode should I use
> for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database backup in order to do
restore. And, you also want some generations of backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this,
you can then plan how you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
append), etc.
> 4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
> the Tran Log file ?
Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied everytime you backup the
log.
I suggest you spend an hour or two reading the sections in Books Online that deals with backup and
restore. Just to you feel confident that you understand the backup and restore architecture in SQL
Server.
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
news:1a93f786c3c5435eafa4d96f81eb5393@.SQLMonster.com...
> Thanks Hari but I have more questions: -
> 1. What is the best practice ? - Perform Log backup first and then Database
> backup or vice-versa?
>
> 2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
> sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
> should I change the order ?
>
> 3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
> mins and Database backup once a day. What kind of backup mode should I use
> for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
>
> 4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
> the Tran Log file ?
> - If yes, how can I control the size automatically without performing a
> shrink on the database (I read bad things about shrinking as it defragments
> pages & disk)?
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Hello Mr. Karaszi,
Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
yrs ago as its extremely useful. Thanks for your genuine advise.
From the suggestions and reading many forum threads on here, I'm realizing
that my Backup/Restore logic and how I'm doing it, is not up to par.
(A.)
I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because
backup history is in msdb and I want to have backup of latest backup
history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent sets msdb to simple
recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think
that this is overkill, though.
I think your sequence makes a lot of sense. For msdb, I have had this
problem of recovery model being reset from Full to Simple automatically, in
the past. Then I gave up and just kept it as Simple. But I'm curious if you
could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
(B.)
Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to
restore 24*6 = 144 log backups. I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent
log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup
perhaps every 2 hours.
I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
(C.)
What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database
backup in order to do restore. And, you also want some generations of
backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this, you can then plan how
you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
append), etc.
I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
1. I created a group of folders on our backup server (not SQL Server box),
each named after the corresponding database in SQL Server.
2. Inside SQL Server, I created 2 named Backup devices for each database,
pointing to its corresponding network folder. I created 1 for Database
Backup file and 1 for Tran Backup Log file.
e.g
deviceUserdb1Data --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Data.bak
deviceUserdb1Log --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Log.bak
deviceMasterData --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterData.bak
deviceMasterLog --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterLog.bak
.
.
.
etc.
3. For Full Database backup, I selected the database in question, right-
click, All Tasks, Backup Database..., General Tab, selected 'Database
Complete', selected the appropriate Backup Device name (suffix with 'Data')
, selected Overwritten, scheduled it to run every hour. Options tab,
selected 1st, 3rd and 4th checkbox.
I repeated the same step 3 for Transaction Log and selected Overwritten
that runs every 15 mins.
As a result, what I end up having is only 2 files for each database
constantly being overwritten. I don't have "series" of Data and Log backup
files.
As suggested by Hari, I tried using Database Maintenance Plan Wizard on my
development machine (as I haven't used this wizard at all) and it created a
"series" of data and log backup files with a timestamp at the end.
Should I use this wizard and if so, how do I limit/recycle/overwrite the
number of data and log files created with unique timestamps ?
(D.)
Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied
everytime you backup the log.
As I understand, the log gets emptied but the physical file size doesn't
shrink right ? I read your article about NOT shrinking the file.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||> Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
> yrs ago as its extremely useful.
I'm happy to hear that.
> But I'm curious if you
> could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
> I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
> 2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
> web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup doesn't (ultimately) have to do
with amount of data or number of users. In the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose
if worst come to worst.
> I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
<snip>
It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog backup. That makes the tlog
backups useless. You need to sit down and think how you want to handle this. Maint wiz is good (for
backup) in the sense that it will create a new file each time it does backup, and thanks to that it
can delete old files. You can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
news:d4e1768dbf05435ca12c31fd4d9b9551@.SQLMonster.com...
> Hello Mr. Karaszi,
> Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
> yrs ago as its extremely useful. Thanks for your genuine advise.
> From the suggestions and reading many forum threads on here, I'm realizing
> that my Backup/Restore logic and how I'm doing it, is not up to par.
> (A.)
> I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because
> backup history is in msdb and I want to have backup of latest backup
> history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent sets msdb to simple
> recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think
> that this is overkill, though.
> I think your sequence makes a lot of sense. For msdb, I have had this
> problem of recovery model being reset from Full to Simple automatically, in
> the past. Then I gave up and just kept it as Simple. But I'm curious if you
> could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
>
> (B.)
> Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to
> restore 24*6 = 144 log backups. I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent
> log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
> be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup
> perhaps every 2 hours.
> I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
> 2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
> web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
>
> (C.)
> What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database
> backup in order to do restore. And, you also want some generations of
> backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this, you can then plan how
> you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
> append), etc.
> I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
> 1. I created a group of folders on our backup server (not SQL Server box),
> each named after the corresponding database in SQL Server.
> 2. Inside SQL Server, I created 2 named Backup devices for each database,
> pointing to its corresponding network folder. I created 1 for Database
> Backup file and 1 for Tran Backup Log file.
> e.g
> deviceUserdb1Data --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Data.bak
> deviceUserdb1Log --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Log.bak
> deviceMasterData --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterData.bak
> deviceMasterLog --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterLog.bak
> .
> .
> .
> etc.
> 3. For Full Database backup, I selected the database in question, right-
> click, All Tasks, Backup Database..., General Tab, selected 'Database
> Complete', selected the appropriate Backup Device name (suffix with 'Data')
> , selected Overwritten, scheduled it to run every hour. Options tab,
> selected 1st, 3rd and 4th checkbox.
> I repeated the same step 3 for Transaction Log and selected Overwritten
> that runs every 15 mins.
> As a result, what I end up having is only 2 files for each database
> constantly being overwritten. I don't have "series" of Data and Log backup
> files.
> As suggested by Hari, I tried using Database Maintenance Plan Wizard on my
> development machine (as I haven't used this wizard at all) and it created a
> "series" of data and log backup files with a timestamp at the end.
> Should I use this wizard and if so, how do I limit/recycle/overwrite the
> number of data and log files created with unique timestamps ?
>
> (D.)
> Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied
> everytime you backup the log.
> As I understand, the log gets emptied but the physical file size doesn't
> shrink right ? I read your article about NOT shrinking the file.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
Thanks a lot. So I assume that Agent starts everyday (or Agent resets it to
'Simple' everyday or at some specific time), otherwise the following Data
and Log backups on msdb would fail ?
No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup
doesn't (ultimately) have to do with amount of data or number of users. In
the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose if worst come to
worst.
Just spoke to the client and they are willing to lose 1 hour of data.
It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog
backup. That makes the tlog backups useless. You need to sit down and think
how you want to handle this.
Would an append on tlog help (on the same backup device) instead of
overwrite?
Maint wiz is good (for backup) in the sense that it will create a new file
each time it does backup, and thanks to that it can delete old files. You
can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
I use the same backup device (network folder) for each database because
every night, those folders get backed up on tape. So I don't need to keep
several days worth of backups on the same folder.
I would like to use Maint Wizard to backup data and tlog on the same backup
device due to its other helpful features like integrity checks,
optimizations, etc.
Given my scenario, could you please guide me how to achieve this so that I
don't have several copies of the backup files on the same folder?
Thank you so much.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Agent set recovery model to simple for msdb at startup. This is why scheduling the job at startup
work so good.
If you append backups all the time the backup files will grow until they fill your disks. Decide
what you want to do, pick the tool (maint wiz, your own jobs with TSQL code in them having proper
overwrite etc) based on that. I do this on a consultancy basis here in Sweden, talking to the client
picking the right tool (or code) for the job etc. I don't have the time to ask questions enough to
know what I have to know and whip up the code over a newsgroup conversation, I'm afraid.
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
news:ff7a1b3783be47078fdfb81576a687a7@.SQLMonster.com...
> Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
> ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
> Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
> Thanks a lot. So I assume that Agent starts everyday (or Agent resets it to
> 'Simple' everyday or at some specific time), otherwise the following Data
> and Log backups on msdb would fail ?
>
> No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup
> doesn't (ultimately) have to do with amount of data or number of users. In
> the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose if worst come to
> worst.
> Just spoke to the client and they are willing to lose 1 hour of data.
>
> It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog
> backup. That makes the tlog backups useless. You need to sit down and think
> how you want to handle this.
> Would an append on tlog help (on the same backup device) instead of
> overwrite?
>
> Maint wiz is good (for backup) in the sense that it will create a new file
> each time it does backup, and thanks to that it can delete old files. You
> can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
> devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
> I use the same backup device (network folder) for each database because
> every night, those folders get backed up on tape. So I don't need to keep
> several days worth of backups on the same folder.
> I would like to use Maint Wizard to backup data and tlog on the same backup
> device due to its other helpful features like integrity checks,
> optimizations, etc.
> Given my scenario, could you please guide me how to achieve this so that I
> don't have several copies of the backup files on the same folder?
> Thank you so much.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Given that my client is willing to lose the data for 1 hour, I chose to go
with the Simple Recovery Model for both user dbs and system dbs (master,
model, msdb).
Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
I used Maintenance Wizard and it works fine.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||> Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
Not really. The general consideration applies to system databases the same way as for user
databases; how much data can you afford to lose. So it is all about what information you have in the
system databases.
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
news:4b11b9f76f284d2198959fde3f8412f3@.SQLMonster.com...
> Given that my client is willing to lose the data for 1 hour, I chose to go
> with the Simple Recovery Model for both user dbs and system dbs (master,
> model, msdb).
> Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
> I used Maintenance Wizard and it works fine.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Tibor,
Thank you very much for your help.
Now, I have a very good understanding of what kind of Recovery Model to
choose, depending on one's tolerance for data loss.
I highly appreciate for sharing your wisdom.
Sameer.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||At work we have one rule. Don't expect the most recent backup to be good,
but rather the one before that. You never know what could lead to data loss,
and probably the last backup is too late if you have corruption.
Regards
--
Mike Epprecht, Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Zurich, Switzerland
IM: mike@.epprecht.net
MVP Program: http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/epprecht/
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
news:f03b84bcad554daa936eaad4548e735d@.SQLMonster.com...
> Tibor,
> Thank you very much for your help.
> Now, I have a very good understanding of what kind of Recovery Model to
> choose, depending on one's tolerance for data loss.
> I highly appreciate for sharing your wisdom.
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Good point, Mike. This is yet another advantage using log backups. Assume you have a corruption, and
that the most recent db backup is also corrupt. In many cases, you can do a last log backup, apply
the next most recent db backup and all subsequent log backup, resulting in zero data loss.
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Mike Epprecht (SQL MVP)" <mike@.epprecht.net> wrote in message
news:e$5Ud7KXFHA.2256@.TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> At work we have one rule. Don't expect the most recent backup to be good, but rather the one
> before that. You never know what could lead to data loss, and probably the last backup is too late
> if you have corruption.
> Regards
> --
> Mike Epprecht, Microsoft SQL Server MVP
> Zurich, Switzerland
> IM: mike@.epprecht.net
> MVP Program: http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
> Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/epprecht/
> "Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
> news:f03b84bcad554daa936eaad4548e735d@.SQLMonster.com...
>> Tibor,
>> Thank you very much for your help.
>> Now, I have a very good understanding of what kind of Recovery Model to
>> choose, depending on one's tolerance for data loss.
>> I highly appreciate for sharing your wisdom.
>> Sameer.
>> --
>> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com
>|||Thanks for bringing up a very critical point.
Currently, I do database backups every hour (Simple mode) and I have
specified inside Maintenance Plan to remove last hour's backup file.
I will modify it to remove last 2 hour's instead.
Thanks,
Sameer.
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Hi
Any reason you are not using transaction log dumps every xx minutes and a
full DB dump every day?
It uses so much less resources doing a transaction log backup compared to a
full DB backup. On day, the DB backup time will get to a point where it runs
longer than 1 hour due to data size.
Regards
--
Mike Epprecht, Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Zurich, Switzerland
IM: mike@.epprecht.net
MVP Program: http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/epprecht/
"Sameer Premji via SQLMonster.com" <forum@.SQLMonster.com> wrote in message
news:516f642290114678b620b9579ea8b265@.SQLMonster.com...
> Thanks for bringing up a very critical point.
> Currently, I do database backups every hour (Simple mode) and I have
> specified inside Maintenance Plan to remove last hour's backup file.
> I will modify it to remove last 2 hour's instead.
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com|||Hi Mike,
Say, if I were to do Tran Log backups every 15 mins, that would dump 4
files per hour * 24 hours = 96 log files ! and thats just for 1 database.
And I have 2 SQL Servers - 2K and 7, for a total of 12 databases (system &
user dbs).
Having a dependency on 96 files is somewhat uneasing for me and I'm sure as
soon as my Network Admin sees those files in every database-sub-folder,
he'll freak out and create a hoopla.
But you are correct that a log backup consumes less resources and its much
quicker than doing a full database backup every hour.
My biggest database size so far is 290 MB and it usually takes 2 mins & 50
secs.
What do you think ?
--
Message posted via http://www.sqlmonster.com

Backup Strategy Clarifications

Hello,
I just wanted to check if my backup strategy is on the right-track or not,
so that I can improve on it. I am using SQL 2000 SP4.
I have the following backup strategy in place: -
STEP 1: MODEL
==========
Database: model
Recovery Model: Full
Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:00
Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 2: MSDB
==========
Database: msdb
Recovery Model: Simple
Log Backup Frequency: N/A
Log Backup Mode: N/A
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05 (same time as model)
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 3: MASTER
===========
Database: msdb
Recovery Model: Full
Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:08
Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:10
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 4: TEMPDB
===========
Database: tempdb
Recovery Model: Simple
I am not doing any backups on this database!
STEP 5: LIVE
===========
Database: live
Recovery Model: Full
I am doing 2 types of Log backups on all User databases:
Type 1. Log Backup Frequency: Every 20 mins starting from 10 mins on the
hour (eg. 9:10 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:50 AM)
Type 1. Log Backup Mode: APPENDED (Not Overwritten!)
Type 2. Log Backup Frequency: Every Hour sharp on the hour (eg. 9:00 AM,
10:00 AM, 11:00 AM)
Type 2. Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Every Hour but 5 mins on the hour (eg. 9:05 AM,
10:05 AM, 11:05 AM)
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
My reasoning was that I do frequent log backups (appended) every 20 mins
and do 1 log backup (overwritten) when it reaches the exact hour. Then
after 5 mins past the hour, do a Full Database backup (overwritten).
Please mention STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. to refer to the proper item and provide
your suggestions.
Thanks,
Sameer.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
Hi,
Your strategy is good enough, but instead of 2 types of transaction log
backups I recommend you to perform only one type of transaction log
backup, but reduce the frequency of trqansaction log backup to 10 Minutes.
Since you are performing the Transaction log backup it is not
required to a full database backup every hour. Full database backup once a
day is more thana enough:-
Steps:-
1. System Database backup strategy is good enough
2. For Live db
A. Schedule a full database backup at 02 AM
B. Schedule the Transaction log backup from 02:15 AM to 01:50 AM every 10
Minutes.
Best way is use the database Maintenence plan to create the jobs for this.
This will create unique transaction log backup files. You could also
enable house keeping mechanism.
Thanks
Hari
SQL SERVER MVP
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.nospam.droptable.com> wrote in
message news:d0f492b8d6dd48f497b96708d471369d@.droptable.co m...
> Hello,
> I just wanted to check if my backup strategy is on the right-track or not,
> so that I can improve on it. I am using SQL 2000 SP4.
> I have the following backup strategy in place: -
>
> STEP 1: MODEL
> ==========
> Database: model
> Recovery Model: Full
> Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:00
> Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 2: MSDB
> ==========
> Database: msdb
> Recovery Model: Simple
> Log Backup Frequency: N/A
> Log Backup Mode: N/A
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05 (same time as model)
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 3: MASTER
> ===========
> Database: msdb
> Recovery Model: Full
> Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:08
> Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:10
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 4: TEMPDB
> ===========
> Database: tempdb
> Recovery Model: Simple
> I am not doing any backups on this database!
>
> STEP 5: LIVE
> ===========
> Database: live
> Recovery Model: Full
> I am doing 2 types of Log backups on all User databases:
> Type 1. Log Backup Frequency: Every 20 mins starting from 10 mins on the
> hour (eg. 9:10 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:50 AM)
> Type 1. Log Backup Mode: APPENDED (Not Overwritten!)
>
> Type 2. Log Backup Frequency: Every Hour sharp on the hour (eg. 9:00 AM,
> 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM)
> Type 2. Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Every Hour but 5 mins on the hour (eg. 9:05 AM,
> 10:05 AM, 11:05 AM)
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> My reasoning was that I do frequent log backups (appended) every 20 mins
> and do 1 log backup (overwritten) when it reaches the exact hour. Then
> after 5 mins past the hour, do a Full Database backup (overwritten).
>
> Please mention STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. to refer to the proper item and
> provide
> your suggestions.
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||Thanks Hari but I have more questions: -
1. What is the best practice ? - Perform Log backup first and then Database
backup or vice-versa?
2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
should I change the order ?
3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
mins and Database backup once a day. What kind of backup mode should I use
for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
the Tran Log file ?
- If yes, how can I control the size automatically without performing a
shrink on the database (I read bad things about shrinking as it defragments
pages & disk)?
Thanks,
Sameer.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||> 2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
> sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
> should I change the order ?
I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because backup history is in msdb
and I want to have backup of latest backup history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent
sets msdb to simple recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think that
this is overkill, though.

> 3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
> mins and Database backup once a day.
Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to restore 24*6 = 144 log backups.
I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup perhaps every 2 hours.

> What kind of backup mode should I use
> for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database backup in order to do
restore. And, you also want some generations of backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this,
you can then plan how you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
append), etc.

> 4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
> the Tran Log file ?
Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied everytime you backup the
log.
I suggest you spend an hour or two reading the sections in Books Online that deals with backup and
restore. Just to you feel confident that you understand the backup and restore architecture in SQL
Server.
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:1a93f786c3c5435eafa4d96f81eb5393@.droptable.co m...
> Thanks Hari but I have more questions: -
> 1. What is the best practice ? - Perform Log backup first and then Database
> backup or vice-versa?
>
> 2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
> sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
> should I change the order ?
>
> 3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
> mins and Database backup once a day. What kind of backup mode should I use
> for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
>
> 4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
> the Tran Log file ?
> - If yes, how can I control the size automatically without performing a
> shrink on the database (I read bad things about shrinking as it defragments
> pages & disk)?
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||Hello Mr. Karaszi,
Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
yrs ago as its extremely useful. Thanks for your genuine advise.
From the suggestions and reading many forum threads on here, I'm realizing
that my Backup/Restore logic and how I'm doing it, is not up to par.
(A.)
I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because
backup history is in msdb and I want to have backup of latest backup
history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent sets msdb to simple
recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think
that this is overkill, though.
I think your sequence makes a lot of sense. For msdb, I have had this
problem of recovery model being reset from Full to Simple automatically, in
the past. Then I gave up and just kept it as Simple. But I'm curious if you
could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
(B.)
Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to
restore 24*6 = 144 log backups. I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent
log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup
perhaps every 2 hours.
I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
(C.)
What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database
backup in order to do restore. And, you also want some generations of
backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this, you can then plan how
you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
append), etc.
I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
1. I created a group of folders on our backup server (not SQL Server box),
each named after the corresponding database in SQL Server.
2. Inside SQL Server, I created 2 named Backup devices for each database,
pointing to its corresponding network folder. I created 1 for Database
Backup file and 1 for Tran Backup Log file.
e.g
deviceUserdb1Data --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Data.bak
deviceUserdb1Log --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Log.bak
deviceMasterData --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterData.bak
deviceMasterLog --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterLog.bak
..
..
..
etc.
3. For Full Database backup, I selected the database in question, right-
click, All Tasks, Backup Database..., General Tab, selected 'Database
Complete', selected the appropriate Backup Device name (suffix with 'Data')
, selected Overwritten, scheduled it to run every hour. Options tab,
selected 1st, 3rd and 4th checkbox.
I repeated the same step 3 for Transaction Log and selected Overwritten
that runs every 15 mins.
As a result, what I end up having is only 2 files for each database
constantly being overwritten. I don't have "series" of Data and Log backup
files.
As suggested by Hari, I tried using Database Maintenance Plan Wizard on my
development machine (as I haven't used this wizard at all) and it created a
"series" of data and log backup files with a timestamp at the end.
Should I use this wizard and if so, how do I limit/recycle/overwrite the
number of data and log files created with unique timestamps ?
(D.)
Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied
everytime you backup the log.
As I understand, the log gets emptied but the physical file size doesn't
shrink right ? I read your article about NOT shrinking the file.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||> Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
> yrs ago as its extremely useful.
I'm happy to hear that.

> But I'm curious if you
> could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.

> I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
> 2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
> web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup doesn't (ultimately) have to do
with amount of data or number of users. In the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose
if worst come to worst.

> I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
<snip>
It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog backup. That makes the tlog
backups useless. You need to sit down and think how you want to handle this. Maint wiz is good (for
backup) in the sense that it will create a new file each time it does backup, and thanks to that it
can delete old files. You can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:d4e1768dbf05435ca12c31fd4d9b9551@.droptable.co m...
> Hello Mr. Karaszi,
> Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
> yrs ago as its extremely useful. Thanks for your genuine advise.
> From the suggestions and reading many forum threads on here, I'm realizing
> that my Backup/Restore logic and how I'm doing it, is not up to par.
> (A.)
> I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because
> backup history is in msdb and I want to have backup of latest backup
> history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent sets msdb to simple
> recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think
> that this is overkill, though.
> I think your sequence makes a lot of sense. For msdb, I have had this
> problem of recovery model being reset from Full to Simple automatically, in
> the past. Then I gave up and just kept it as Simple. But I'm curious if you
> could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
>
> (B.)
> Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to
> restore 24*6 = 144 log backups. I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent
> log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
> be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup
> perhaps every 2 hours.
> I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
> 2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
> web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
>
> (C.)
> What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database
> backup in order to do restore. And, you also want some generations of
> backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this, you can then plan how
> you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
> append), etc.
> I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
> 1. I created a group of folders on our backup server (not SQL Server box),
> each named after the corresponding database in SQL Server.
> 2. Inside SQL Server, I created 2 named Backup devices for each database,
> pointing to its corresponding network folder. I created 1 for Database
> Backup file and 1 for Tran Backup Log file.
> e.g
> deviceUserdb1Data --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Data.bak
> deviceUserdb1Log --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb1Log.bak
> deviceMasterData --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterData.bak
> deviceMasterLog --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterLog.bak
> .
> .
> .
> etc.
> 3. For Full Database backup, I selected the database in question, right-
> click, All Tasks, Backup Database..., General Tab, selected 'Database
> Complete', selected the appropriate Backup Device name (suffix with 'Data')
> , selected Overwritten, scheduled it to run every hour. Options tab,
> selected 1st, 3rd and 4th checkbox.
> I repeated the same step 3 for Transaction Log and selected Overwritten
> that runs every 15 mins.
> As a result, what I end up having is only 2 files for each database
> constantly being overwritten. I don't have "series" of Data and Log backup
> files.
> As suggested by Hari, I tried using Database Maintenance Plan Wizard on my
> development machine (as I haven't used this wizard at all) and it created a
> "series" of data and log backup files with a timestamp at the end.
> Should I use this wizard and if so, how do I limit/recycle/overwrite the
> number of data and log files created with unique timestamps ?
>
> (D.)
> Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied
> everytime you backup the log.
> As I understand, the log gets emptied but the physical file size doesn't
> shrink right ? I read your article about NOT shrinking the file.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
Thanks a lot. So I assume that Agent starts everyday (or Agent resets it to
'Simple' everyday or at some specific time), otherwise the following Data
and Log backups on msdb would fail ?
No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup
doesn't (ultimately) have to do with amount of data or number of users. In
the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose if worst come to
worst.
Just spoke to the client and they are willing to lose 1 hour of data.
It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog
backup. That makes the tlog backups useless. You need to sit down and think
how you want to handle this.
Would an append on tlog help (on the same backup device) instead of
overwrite?
Maint wiz is good (for backup) in the sense that it will create a new file
each time it does backup, and thanks to that it can delete old files. You
can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
I use the same backup device (network folder) for each database because
every night, those folders get backed up on tape. So I don't need to keep
several days worth of backups on the same folder.
I would like to use Maint Wizard to backup data and tlog on the same backup
device due to its other helpful features like integrity checks,
optimizations, etc.
Given my scenario, could you please guide me how to achieve this so that I
don't have several copies of the backup files on the same folder?
Thank you so much.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||Agent set recovery model to simple for msdb at startup. This is why scheduling the job at startup
work so good.
If you append backups all the time the backup files will grow until they fill your disks. Decide
what you want to do, pick the tool (maint wiz, your own jobs with TSQL code in them having proper
overwrite etc) based on that. I do this on a consultancy basis here in Sweden, talking to the client
picking the right tool (or code) for the job etc. I don't have the time to ask questions enough to
know what I have to know and whip up the code over a newsgroup conversation, I'm afraid.
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:ff7a1b3783be47078fdfb81576a687a7@.droptable.co m...
> Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
> ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
> Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
> Thanks a lot. So I assume that Agent starts everyday (or Agent resets it to
> 'Simple' everyday or at some specific time), otherwise the following Data
> and Log backups on msdb would fail ?
>
> No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup
> doesn't (ultimately) have to do with amount of data or number of users. In
> the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose if worst come to
> worst.
> Just spoke to the client and they are willing to lose 1 hour of data.
>
> It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog
> backup. That makes the tlog backups useless. You need to sit down and think
> how you want to handle this.
> Would an append on tlog help (on the same backup device) instead of
> overwrite?
>
> Maint wiz is good (for backup) in the sense that it will create a new file
> each time it does backup, and thanks to that it can delete old files. You
> can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
> devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
> I use the same backup device (network folder) for each database because
> every night, those folders get backed up on tape. So I don't need to keep
> several days worth of backups on the same folder.
> I would like to use Maint Wizard to backup data and tlog on the same backup
> device due to its other helpful features like integrity checks,
> optimizations, etc.
> Given my scenario, could you please guide me how to achieve this so that I
> don't have several copies of the backup files on the same folder?
> Thank you so much.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||Given that my client is willing to lose the data for 1 hour, I chose to go
with the Simple Recovery Model for both user dbs and system dbs (master,
model, msdb).
Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
I used Maintenance Wizard and it works fine.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
|||> Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
Not really. The general consideration applies to system databases the same way as for user
databases; how much data can you afford to lose. So it is all about what information you have in the
system databases.
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:4b11b9f76f284d2198959fde3f8412f3@.droptable.co m...
> Given that my client is willing to lose the data for 1 hour, I chose to go
> with the Simple Recovery Model for both user dbs and system dbs (master,
> model, msdb).
> Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
> I used Maintenance Wizard and it works fine.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com
sql

Backup Strategy Clarifications

Hello,
I just wanted to check if my backup strategy is on the right-track or not,
so that I can improve on it. I am using SQL 2000 SP4.
I have the following backup strategy in place: -
STEP 1: MODEL
==========
Database: model
Recovery Model: Full
Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:00
Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 2: MSDB
==========
Database: msdb
Recovery Model: Simple
Log Backup Frequency: N/A
Log Backup Mode: N/A
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05 (same time as model)
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 3: MASTER
===========
Database: msdb
Recovery Model: Full
Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:08
Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:10
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
STEP 4: TEMPDB
===========
Database: tempdb
Recovery Model: Simple
I am not doing any backups on this database!
STEP 5: LIVE
===========
Database: live
Recovery Model: Full
I am doing 2 types of Log backups on all User databases:
---
Type 1. Log Backup Frequency: Every 20 mins starting from 10 mins on the
hour (eg. 9:10 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:50 AM)
Type 1. Log Backup Mode: APPENDED (Not Overwritten!)
Type 2. Log Backup Frequency: Every Hour sharp on the hour (eg. 9:00 AM,
10:00 AM, 11:00 AM)
Type 2. Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
---
Database Backup Frequency: Every Hour but 5 mins on the hour (eg. 9:05 AM,
10:05 AM, 11:05 AM)
Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
My reasoning was that I do frequent log backups (appended) every 20 mins
and do 1 log backup (overwritten) when it reaches the exact hour. Then
after 5 mins past the hour, do a Full Database backup (overwritten).
Please mention STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. to refer to the proper item and provide
your suggestions.
Thanks,
Sameer.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.comHi,
Your strategy is good enough, but instead of 2 types of transaction log
backups I recommend you to perform only one type of transaction log
backup, but reduce the frequency of trqansaction log backup to 10 Minutes.
Since you are performing the Transaction log backup it is not
required to a full database backup every hour. Full database backup once a
day is more thana enough:-
Steps:-
1. System Database backup strategy is good enough
2. For Live db
A. Schedule a full database backup at 02 AM
B. Schedule the Transaction log backup from 02:15 AM to 01:50 AM every 10
Minutes.
Best way is use the database Maintenence plan to create the jobs for this.
This will create unique transaction log backup files. You could also
enable house keeping mechanism.
Thanks
Hari
SQL SERVER MVP
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.nospam.droptable.com> wrote in
message news:d0f492b8d6dd48f497b96708d471369d@.SQ
droptable.com...
> Hello,
> I just wanted to check if my backup strategy is on the right-track or not,
> so that I can improve on it. I am using SQL 2000 SP4.
> I have the following backup strategy in place: -
>
> STEP 1: MODEL
> ==========
> Database: model
> Recovery Model: Full
> Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:00
> Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 2: MSDB
> ==========
> Database: msdb
> Recovery Model: Simple
> Log Backup Frequency: N/A
> Log Backup Mode: N/A
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:05 (same time as model)
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 3: MASTER
> ===========
> Database: msdb
> Recovery Model: Full
> Log Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:08
> Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> Database Backup Frequency: Once a day at 20:10
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> STEP 4: TEMPDB
> ===========
> Database: tempdb
> Recovery Model: Simple
> I am not doing any backups on this database!
>
> STEP 5: LIVE
> ===========
> Database: live
> Recovery Model: Full
> I am doing 2 types of Log backups on all User databases:
> ---
> Type 1. Log Backup Frequency: Every 20 mins starting from 10 mins on the
> hour (eg. 9:10 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:50 AM)
> Type 1. Log Backup Mode: APPENDED (Not Overwritten!)
>
> Type 2. Log Backup Frequency: Every Hour sharp on the hour (eg. 9:00 AM,
> 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM)
> Type 2. Log Backup Mode: Overwritten
> ---
> Database Backup Frequency: Every Hour but 5 mins on the hour (eg. 9:05 AM,
> 10:05 AM, 11:05 AM)
> Database Backup Mode: Overwritten
>
> My reasoning was that I do frequent log backups (appended) every 20 mins
> and do 1 log backup (overwritten) when it reaches the exact hour. Then
> after 5 mins past the hour, do a Full Database backup (overwritten).
>
> Please mention STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. to refer to the proper item and
> provide
> your suggestions.
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||Thanks Hari but I have more questions: -
1. What is the best practice ? - Perform Log backup first and then Database
backup or vice-versa?
2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
should I change the order ?
3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 10
mins and Database backup once a day. What kind of backup mode should I use
for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
the Tran Log file ?
- If yes, how can I control the size automatically without performing a
shrink on the database (I read bad things about shrinking as it defragments
pages & disk)?
Thanks,
Sameer.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||> 2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
> sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
> should I change the order ?
I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because bac
kup history is in msdb
and I want to have backup of latest backup history. I also do log backup for
msdb, but since Agent
sets msdb to simple recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to
full. Some think that
this is overkill, though.

> 3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 1
0
> mins and Database backup once a day.
Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to restore
24*6 = 144 log backups.
I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent log backups. This might be fine wi
th you, but you should
be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup perhaps
every 2 hours.

> What kind of backup mode should I use
> for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database bac
kup in order to do
restore. And, you also want some generations of backups (a few days back or
so). Etc. Based on this,
you can then plan how you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-u
se same device (with
append), etc.

> 4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
> the Tran Log file ?
Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied ev
erytime you backup the
log.
I suggest you spend an hour or two reading the sections in Books Online that
deals with backup and
restore. Just to you feel confident that you understand the backup and resto
re architecture in SQL
Server.
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:1a93f786c3c5435eafa4d96f81eb5393@.SQ
droptable.com...
> Thanks Hari but I have more questions: -
> 1. What is the best practice ? - Perform Log backup first and then Databas
e
> backup or vice-versa?
>
> 2. For System databases, you mentioned it was good enough. So the
> sequence/order of backing model first, then msdb, then master is OK or
> should I change the order ?
>
> 3. For User databases, you mentioned that I should do a Log backup every 1
0
> mins and Database backup once a day. What kind of backup mode should I use
> for Log backup - Overwritten or Appended ?
>
> 4. By Performing Log backups every 10 mins, will it increase the size of
> the Tran Log file ?
> - If yes, how can I control the size automatically without performing a
> shrink on the database (I read bad things about shrinking as it defragment
s
> pages & disk)?
> Thanks,
> Sameer.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||Hello Mr. Karaszi,
Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of
yrs ago as its extremely useful. Thanks for your genuine advise.
From the suggestions and reading many forum threads on here, I'm realizing
that my Backup/Restore logic and how I'm doing it, is not up to par.
(A.)
I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because
backup history is in msdb and I want to have backup of latest backup
history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent sets msdb to simple
recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think
that this is overkill, though.
I think your sequence makes a lot of sense. For msdb, I have had this
problem of recovery model being reset from Full to Simple automatically, in
the past. Then I gave up and just kept it as Simple. But I'm curious if you
could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
(B.)
Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to
restore 24*6 = 144 log backups. I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent
log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup
perhaps every 2 hours.
I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (since
2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
(C.)
What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database
backup in order to do restore. And, you also want some generations of
backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this, you can then plan how
you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
append), etc.
I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
1. I created a group of folders on our backup server (not SQL Server box),
each named after the corresponding database in SQL Server.
2. Inside SQL Server, I created 2 named Backup devices for each database,
pointing to its corresponding network folder. I created 1 for Database
Backup file and 1 for Tran Backup Log file.
e.g
deviceUserdb1Data --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb
1Data.bak
deviceUserdb1Log --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb
1Log.bak
deviceMasterData --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterD
ata.bak
deviceMasterLog --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterL
og.bak
.
.
.
etc.
3. For Full Database backup, I selected the database in question, right-
click, All Tasks, Backup Database..., General Tab, selected 'Database
Complete', selected the appropriate Backup Device name (suffix with 'Data')
, selected Overwritten, scheduled it to run every hour. Options tab,
selected 1st, 3rd and 4th checkbox.
I repeated the same step 3 for Transaction Log and selected Overwritten
that runs every 15 mins.
As a result, what I end up having is only 2 files for each database
constantly being overwritten. I don't have "series" of Data and Log backup
files.
As suggested by Hari, I tried using Database Maintenance Plan Wizard on my
development machine (as I haven't used this wizard at all) and it created a
"series" of data and log backup files with a timestamp at the end.
Should I use this wizard and if so, how do I limit/recycle/overwrite the
number of data and log files created with unique timestamps ?
(D.)
Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied
everytime you backup the log.
As I understand, the log gets emptied but the physical file size doesn't
shrink right ? I read your article about NOT shrinking the file.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||> Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple of">
> yrs ago as its extremely useful.
I'm happy to hear that.

> But I'm curious if you
> could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.

> I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (sinc
e
> 2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
> web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup doesn't
(ultimately) have to do
with amount of data or number of users. In the end it is the amount of data
you can afford to lose
if worst come to worst.

> I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
<snip>
It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog back
up. That makes the tlog
backups useless. You need to sit down and think how you want to handle this.
Maint wiz is good (for
backup) in the sense that it will create a new file each time it does backup
, and thanks to that it
can delete old files. You can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you
can use several backup
devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
--
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:d4e1768dbf05435ca12c31fd4d9b9551@.SQ
droptable.com...
> Hello Mr. Karaszi,
> Just to let you know that I have had your site bookmarked since a couple o
f
> yrs ago as its extremely useful. Thanks for your genuine advise.
> From the suggestions and reading many forum threads on here, I'm realizing
> that my Backup/Restore logic and how I'm doing it, is not up to par.
> (A.)
> I do master, model, userdb1, userdb2, ... userdbN, msdb. This is because
> backup history is in msdb and I want to have backup of latest backup
> history. I also do log backup for msdb, but since Agent sets msdb to simpl
e
> recovery, I have a job that Agent autostart to set it to full. Some think
> that this is overkill, though.
> I think your sequence makes a lot of sense. For msdb, I have had this
> problem of recovery model being reset from Full to Simple automatically, i
n
> the past. Then I gave up and just kept it as Simple. But I'm curious if yo
u
> could share how and when exactly you are resetting msdb's recovery model.
>
> (B.)
> Be aware that you can potentially have a situation where you need to
> restore 24*6 = 144 log backups. I.e., latest db backup and all subsequent
> log backups. This might be fine with you, but you should
> be aware of it. One thing to consider is to do a differential backup
> perhaps every 2 hours.
> I think 144 log backups is overkill. My current Userdb size is 289MB (sinc
e
> 2 yrs!) and it is used daily by approx. 100 employees via our data-driven
> web intranet. Given the scenario, what are your recommendations ?
>
> (C.)
> What is important is that you need all log backups since latest database
> backup in order to do restore. And, you also want some generations of
> backups (a few days back or so). Etc. Based on this, you can then plan how
> you do your backups, new devices all the time, or re-use same device (with
> append), etc.
> I'll tell you exactly how I established my backup jobs.
> 1. I created a group of folders on our backup server (not SQL Server box),
> each named after the corresponding database in SQL Server.
> 2. Inside SQL Server, I created 2 named Backup devices for each database,
> pointing to its corresponding network folder. I created 1 for Database
> Backup file and 1 for Tran Backup Log file.
> e.g
> deviceUserdb1Data --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb
1Data.bak
> deviceUserdb1Log --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Userdb1\Userdb
1Log.bak
> deviceMasterData --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterD
ata.bak
> deviceMasterLog --> \\backupserver\SQLBackups\Master\masterL
og.bak
> .
> .
> .
> etc.
> 3. For Full Database backup, I selected the database in question, right-
> click, All Tasks, Backup Database..., General Tab, selected 'Database
> Complete', selected the appropriate Backup Device name (suffix with 'Data'
)
> , selected Overwritten, scheduled it to run every hour. Options tab,
> selected 1st, 3rd and 4th checkbox.
> I repeated the same step 3 for Transaction Log and selected Overwritten
> that runs every 15 mins.
> As a result, what I end up having is only 2 files for each database
> constantly being overwritten. I don't have "series" of Data and Log backup
> files.
> As suggested by Hari, I tried using Database Maintenance Plan Wizard on my
> development machine (as I haven't used this wizard at all) and it created
a
> "series" of data and log backup files with a timestamp at the end.
> Should I use this wizard and if so, how do I limit/recycle/overwrite the
> number of data and log files created with unique timestamps ?
>
> (D.)
> Compared to what? Every 1 minute? Yes. Every hour? No. The log is emptied
> everytime you backup the log.
> As I understand, the log gets emptied but the physical file size doesn't
> shrink right ? I read your article about NOT shrinking the file.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
Thanks a lot. So I assume that Agent starts everyday (or Agent resets it to
'Simple' everyday or at some specific time), otherwise the following Data
and Log backups on msdb would fail ?
No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup
doesn't (ultimately) have to do with amount of data or number of users. In
the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose if worst come to
worst.
Just spoke to the client and they are willing to lose 1 hour of data.
It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog
backup. That makes the tlog backups useless. You need to sit down and think
how you want to handle this.
Would an append on tlog help (on the same backup device) instead of
overwrite?
Maint wiz is good (for backup) in the sense that it will create a new file
each time it does backup, and thanks to that it can delete old files. You
can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
I use the same backup device (network folder) for each database because
every night, those folders get backed up on tape. So I don't need to keep
several days worth of backups on the same folder.
I would like to use Maint Wizard to backup data and tlog on the same backup
device due to its other helpful features like integrity checks,
optimizations, etc.
Given my scenario, could you please guide me how to achieve this so that I
don't have several copies of the backup files on the same folder?
Thank you so much.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||Agent set recovery model to simple for msdb at startup. This is why scheduli
ng the job at startup
work so good.
If you append backups all the time the backup files will grow until they fil
l your disks. Decide
what you want to do, pick the tool (maint wiz, your own jobs with TSQL code
in them having proper
overwrite etc) based on that. I do this on a consultancy basis here in Swede
n, talking to the client
picking the right tool (or code) for the job etc. I don't have the time to a
sk questions enough to
know what I have to know and whip up the code over a newsgroup conversation,
I'm afraid.
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:ff7a1b3783be47078fdfb81576a687a7@.SQ
droptable.com...
> Create an Agent job with one jobstep:
> ALTER DATABASE msdb SET RECOVERY FULL
> Create a schedule for the job, schedule it as autostart.
> Thanks a lot. So I assume that Agent starts everyday (or Agent resets it t
o
> 'Simple' everyday or at some specific time), otherwise the following Data
> and Log backups on msdb would fail ?
>
> No can do. Only your client can decide that. The frequency of backup
> doesn't (ultimately) have to do with amount of data or number of users. In
> the end it is the amount of data you can afford to lose if worst come to
> worst.
> Just spoke to the client and they are willing to lose 1 hour of data.
>
> It seems that each transaction log backup is overwriting the prior tlog
> backup. That makes the tlog backups useless. You need to sit down and thin
k
> how you want to handle this.
> Would an append on tlog help (on the same backup device) instead of
> overwrite?
>
> Maint wiz is good (for backup) in the sense that it will create a new file
> each time it does backup, and thanks to that it can delete old files. You
> can do the very same in your own TSQL code. Or you can use several backup
> devices (as I assume you want to keep a few days worth of backups).
> I use the same backup device (network folder) for each database because
> every night, those folders get backed up on tape. So I don't need to keep
> several days worth of backups on the same folder.
> I would like to use Maint Wizard to backup data and tlog on the same backu
p
> device due to its other helpful features like integrity checks,
> optimizations, etc.
> Given my scenario, could you please guide me how to achieve this so that I
> don't have several copies of the backup files on the same folder?
> Thank you so much.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||Given that my client is willing to lose the data for 1 hour, I chose to go
with the Simple Recovery Model for both user dbs and system dbs (master,
model, msdb).
Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
I used Maintenance Wizard and it works fine.
Message posted via http://www.droptable.com|||> Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
Not really. The general consideration applies to system databases the same w
ay as for user
databases; how much data can you afford to lose. So it is all about what inf
ormation you have in the
system databases.
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/
"Sameer Premji via droptable.com" <forum@.droptable.com> wrote in message
news:4b11b9f76f284d2198959fde3f8412f3@.SQ
droptable.com...
> Given that my client is willing to lose the data for 1 hour, I chose to go
> with the Simple Recovery Model for both user dbs and system dbs (master,
> model, msdb).
> Are there any concerns in backing up "system" dbs in Simple mode ?
> I used Maintenance Wizard and it works fine.
> --
> Message posted via http://www.droptable.com

Backup Strategy : Microsoft Backup or Veritas

I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database Maintenance
Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
.BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr) to
backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than one
.BAK on the SAN for safety.
Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the SAN
is required.
I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
thank you
ChrisChris
I have no experience with this vendor so I can tell you nothing but based
on lots of years of experience with MS BACKUP strategy I can tell that I
had never problems with it , I mean if you have a proper .BAK (using BACKUP
DATABASE...) file and you attempt to do a RESTORE command you are going to
get a healthy database always
"Chris" <Chris@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0DA2F41F-8CF7-4EAB-B0E3-C368D403A947@.microsoft.com...
>I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database
>Maintenance
> Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
> Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
> .BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr)
> to
> backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
> Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than
> one
> .BAK on the SAN for safety.
> Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
> tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the
> SAN
> is required.
>
> I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
> thank you
> Chris|||Uri Dimant wrote:
> Chris
> I have no experience with this vendor so I can tell you nothing but based
> on lots of years of experience with MS BACKUP strategy I can tell that I
> had never problems with it , I mean if you have a proper .BAK (using BACKUP
> DATABASE...) file and you attempt to do a RESTORE command you are going to
> get a healthy database always
>
>
> "Chris" <Chris@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0DA2F41F-8CF7-4EAB-B0E3-C368D403A947@.microsoft.com...
>> I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database
>> Maintenance
>> Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
>> Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
>> .BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr)
>> to
>> backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
>> Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than
>> one
>> .BAK on the SAN for safety.
>> Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
>> tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the
>> SAN
>> is required.
>>
>> I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
>> thank you
>> Chris
>
I agree with Uri. It's quite easy to let SQL server handle the backup in
any way you like and then just backup the backup file. In this way it's
only a regular file backup you need to do and you'll always have a
native SQL server backup file at hand.
An extra plus is that you save the cost of a Veritas SQL server backup
Agent. It might not the the case for you, but in many cases you have to
pay extra to get this agent - just like if you need the Exchange server
Agent.
Regards
Steen

Backup Strategy : Microsoft Backup or Veritas

I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database Maintenance
Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
..BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr) to
backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than one
..BAK on the SAN for safety.
Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the SAN
is required.
I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
thank you
Chris
Chris
I have no experience with this vendor so I can tell you nothing but based
on lots of years of experience with MS BACKUP strategy I can tell that I
had never problems with it , I mean if you have a proper .BAK (using BACKUP
DATABASE...) file and you attempt to do a RESTORE command you are going to
get a healthy database always
"Chris" <Chris@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0DA2F41F-8CF7-4EAB-B0E3-C368D403A947@.microsoft.com...
>I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database
>Maintenance
> Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
> Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
> .BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr)
> to
> backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
> Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than
> one
> .BAK on the SAN for safety.
> Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
> tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the
> SAN
> is required.
>
> I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
> thank you
> Chris
|||Uri Dimant wrote:
> Chris
> I have no experience with this vendor so I can tell you nothing but based
> on lots of years of experience with MS BACKUP strategy I can tell that I
> had never problems with it , I mean if you have a proper .BAK (using BACKUP
> DATABASE...) file and you attempt to do a RESTORE command you are going to
> get a healthy database always
>
>
> "Chris" <Chris@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0DA2F41F-8CF7-4EAB-B0E3-C368D403A947@.microsoft.com...
>
I agree with Uri. It's quite easy to let SQL server handle the backup in
any way you like and then just backup the backup file. In this way it's
only a regular file backup you need to do and you'll always have a
native SQL server backup file at hand.
An extra plus is that you save the cost of a Veritas SQL server backup
Agent. It might not the the case for you, but in many cases you have to
pay extra to get this agent - just like if you need the Exchange server
Agent.
Regards
Steen

Backup Strategy : Microsoft Backup or Veritas

I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database Maintenanc
e
Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
.BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr) t
o
backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than on
e
.BAK on the SAN for safety.
Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the SAN
is required.
I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
thank you
ChrisChris
I have no experience with this vendor so I can tell you nothing but based
on lots of years of experience with MS BACKUP strategy I can tell that I
had never problems with it , I mean if you have a proper .BAK (using BACKUP
DATABASE...) file and you attempt to do a RESTORE command you are going to
get a healthy database always
"Chris" <Chris@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0DA2F41F-8CF7-4EAB-B0E3-C368D403A947@.microsoft.com...
>I am trying to decide if we should use Microsoft Backup (Database
>Maintenance
> Plans) or use Veritas. We already own Veritas, and the SQL clients.
> Option 1. Do Not use Veritas SQL client. Use Microsoft Backup to produce a
> .BAK file on the SAN. Use the Network install of Veritas (not on SQL svr)
> to
> backup the .BAKs from the SAN. Downside: disk space on SAN is required.
> Upside: using standard Microsoft tools. Downside: Need to store more than
> one
> .BAK on the SAN for safety.
> Option 2. Use Veritas SQL client. Do not use standard Microsoft backup
> tools. Veritas SQL client will backup directly to tape. No space on the
> SAN
> is required.
>
> I am looking for a pros and cons of each to help me make my decision
> thank you
> Chris|||Uri Dimant wrote:
> Chris
> I have no experience with this vendor so I can tell you nothing but bas
ed
> on lots of years of experience with MS BACKUP strategy I can tell that I
> had never problems with it , I mean if you have a proper .BAK (using BACKU
P
> DATABASE...) file and you attempt to do a RESTORE command you are going
to
> get a healthy database always
>
>
> "Chris" <Chris@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0DA2F41F-8CF7-4EAB-B0E3-C368D403A947@.microsoft.com...
>
I agree with Uri. It's quite easy to let SQL server handle the backup in
any way you like and then just backup the backup file. In this way it's
only a regular file backup you need to do and you'll always have a
native SQL server backup file at hand.
An extra plus is that you save the cost of a Veritas SQL server backup
Agent. It might not the the case for you, but in many cases you have to
pay extra to get this agent - just like if you need the Exchange server
Agent.
Regards
Steen