As data professionals responsible for SQL Server, it is drilled into our heads that we need to take backups. But, how do we know we actually have backups available to us when we need them? How can we verify that a backup has been taken? Some types of auditing that an employer has to undergo might require proof of backups. How will you provide it?
Here are 3 ways I can think of off the top of my head.
You’ve just been hired into a DBA role at a new company, or you’ve been given the DBA keys at your current company. Maybe you’re a SysAdmin and your boss has informed you that you are now supposed to manage the SQL Servers as well as everything else on your plate. In any of these situations, you may have some confidence in your skills, but especially in the case of being a new hire, you have absolutely no true idea of what you’re walking into.
So, I realize it’s now almost April of 2021 when I’m posting this. Normally this sort of post would come out in January for the previous year. However, I have a reason for this being late and I’ll actually post about that separately.
In mid-2020 I decided to give my blog more attention. there were a number of reasons for this. First, I’d already spent a fair amount of money over the years on hosting and related things so I didn’t want to waste that. Second, I really wanted to try to start giving back to the SQL Server community. I have been the recipient of a lot of learning and help through a number of regular, and occasional, bloggers. I have also purchased and mostly read my fair share of SQL Server books, which was another way I had been helped by the community. Third, I wanted a place to record my own troubleshooting and learning so when I needed to do something again, I would have a record of what to do. By the way, I have seen this repeatedly listed as a reason that someone blogs.
Last time we discussed 5 backup types for SQL Server. Now I want to introduce you to five ways to make backups in SQL Server. I can’t possibly explore all the options available with each of these six methods. There is a lot to cover for even a “simple” topic like backups.
For those readers who like the SSMS GUI, there is good news. SQL Server Management Studio offers a fairly straightforward method for backing up a database. Once you connect to the SQL Server instance containing the database you want to back up, left click on the “+” sign next to the Databases folder. Then right click the name of the database you want to backup, choose Tasks, then choose the Backup option in the fly out menu.
One of the foundational responsibilities of a DBA is making sure that backups are available. SQL Server has several foundational types of backups that can be made. Before I dive into that though, I want to ask a question that seems to have a fairly obvious answer.
What does a full backup accomplish? A full backup, creates a backup of the entire database. It is all-inclusive, containing the entire database structure and all the data. When a full backup starts, the Log Sequence Number is recorded and when the full backup completes, the Log Sequence Number is recorded. This Log Sequence Number is the mechanism used by SQL Server to know what order INSERTS, UPDATES or DELETES occurred in. As such, having the beginning and ending Log Sequence number recorded as part of the full backup allows for a transactionally consistent backup because the full backup is aware of the changes that took place while the backup was being made. This allows for recovery of those transactions during the restore process. This full backup serves as the base backup, or starting point for all differential and log backups after it. Each time a new full backup is taken, a new base backup point is created.
Hello reader! Here we are with the much anticipated post for day 3 of the recent Azure SQL Boot Camp. Here are the previous posts for days one and two .
If you want to get started with Azure SQL, the boot camp is a great way to do it. You’ll get Azure experts like Anna Hoffman and Bob Ward, who is also a long time SQL Server expert, teaching you how to leverage the cloud for SQL Server. On day three, Anna does a couple of demos on the subject of HA that demonstrate the capabilities of the Azure platform. Other days have demos of other concepts as well.