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Backup and Restore

sql server DBA 999

Automating SFTP Downloads using WinScp Free Tool

Today’s article is about how to Automating SFTP Downloads using WinScp Free Tool:

This will be helpfull in many situations of which one is if you have your database hosted in Cloud by Hosted Services then for running reports etc. linking this database to another which is hosted locally, would mean you will need to automate SFTP downloads for that database and run restore script to Restore Database Automatically.

Procedure:

1. Install the WinScp Free Tool.
2. Access your FTP Site using SFTP(I used implicit FTP). If you cant access this then check your Firewall and see if this is blocked. Add exceptions to Firewall as needed.
3. Store a … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

When do we use SQL Server Database in Restricted User Mode?

Why do we need restricted user SQL server?

When performing some maintenance tasks, particularly in recovery situations, it is essential to limit access to databases by general users by restricting the user access by putting into restricted user sql server or for sql database in single user mode after restore. restricted user sql server access mode can be employed to limit connections to high-level users only.

How do we put restricted user SQL server?

In order to put SQL server restricted user mode we need to use the alter database set restricted_user below. This command can help with sql database in single user mode after restore.

ALTER DATABASE Command
The ALTER DATABASE command allows a database administrator to modify SQL … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

Why Copy-Only Backups taken in SQL Server?

A copy-only backup in SQL Server(any version like 2012 or 2008 or 2005) is taken in cases you do not want effect the sequence of conventional SQL Server backups.
Usually in using a normal Backup,the backup changes the database and affects how later backups are restored. However, occasionally, it is useful to take a backup for a special purpose without affecting the overall backup and restore procedures for the database. copy-only backups serve this purpose.

Note: The transaction log is never truncated after a copy-only backup.

The types of copy-only backups are as follows:

Copy-only full backups (all recovery models)

Copy-only log backups (full recovery model and bulk-logged recovery model only)

Note:A copy-only full backup cannot serve as a … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

SQL Server RPO and RTO

Recovery Point Objective(RPO) describes a point in time that data can be restored from. For instance, if there is data corruption, Data loss or unavailability, at what point in time can a valid copy of the data be restored from? RPO is usually measured as minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc… for Business Continuity.

If a database is corrupted then can we restore it back to what it was 15 minutes ago? This would be an RPO of 15 minutes for Business Continuity..

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the amount of time which data or hardware is desired to be restored after a data corruption or hardware failure.

If a Database server just died. Time needed to bring it up and … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

Different Restore options in SQL Server 2008

Different Restore options in SQL Server 2008:
1. Restore can be done for an entire database from a full database backup (a complete restore).
2. Restore can be done for a part of a database (a partial restore).
3. Restore can be done for specific files or filegroups to a database (a file restore).
4. Restore can be done to specific pages to a database (a page restore).
5. Transaction log Restore can be done onto a database (a transaction log restore).
6. We also have a option to Revert a database to the point in time captured by a database snapshot.

Restoring a full databaseThe following example restores a full database backup from the AdventureWorks2008R2.bak file.

RESTORE DATABASE … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

Different Backup options in SQL Server 2008

Different Backup options in SQL Server 2008:
1. Backup’s can be taken for a complete database, or one or more files or filegroups.
2. If the Databases are in Full recovery model or bulk-logged recovery model(discussed below) then backup’s can be taken for the transaction log (BACKUP LOG).

MIRROR TO Statement: Specifies a set of up to three secondary backup devices, each of which will mirror the backups devices specified in the TO clause. The MIRROR TO clause must be specify the same type and number of the backup devices as the TO clause. The maximum number of MIRROR TO clauses is three.

Backup Set Options

COPY_ONLY: Specifies that the backup is a copy-only backup, which does not affect the … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

SQL Server 2008 BACKUP LOG WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY

BACKUP LOG WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY is no longer a recognized BACKUP option. This command get rid of the contents of your SQL Server’s transaction log without really backing it up. This command will to invalidate the point in time recoverability of the database as this breaks the log chain.

This command is used by Database administrators when they end in situations where getting rid of the transaction log is only way by which he can shrink their log file with a DBCC SHRINKFILE command, thereby freeing up drive space.

Microsoft always recommends that DBA’s must switch to simple recovery mode getting rid of the transaction logs instead of truncating logs by above command if no Point in Time recovery is required. … Read the rest

sql server DBA 999

SQL Server 2008 Recovery Models and Transaction log usage

SQL Server 2008 Recovery Models
In SQL Server 2008 there are 3 recovery models you can use: simple, bulk-logged, and full. These recovery models really just define how log management behaves so you can have what you need to perform your desired backups.
As the name implies the focus is really on recovery of databases in case of Disaster occurs.

Simple Mode

If a database is set for Simple Recovery mode than it means that you don’t bother to take log backups. Only Backups available will be Full Backups of Database which you will use in case of Disaster occurs. SQL Server forces the log to truncate when the database writes data to the disk (we call that a checkpoint). … Read the rest