SQL Server 2000 Administration in 15 Minutes a Week: Database Backups

Welcome to
the seventh article in my series SQL Server Administration
in 15 Minutes a Week. Last week we learned what T-SQL is
and we also saw how the transaction logs are used to track
changes in the database. This week we are going to look at
how to backup our databases. The topics for this article
include:

— Why
Backups are important
— Database Backup Types 
— Database Recovery Models
— Making a backup


Why
Backups are important
 

One of the
most important tasks you will face as a DBA is
performing backups. Although backups are certainly not the
most interesting part of the job, they are probably the
single most important. If something goes wrong it’s the DBA’s job
to get the server back up and running as quickly as
possible. Loss of productivity or, even worse, loss of data
can be very expensive for a company.
Let’s look at the most common question I’m asked when talking
about backups.  

Why not
just use a RAID configuration that has mirroring to provide
protection? RAID is certainly the first line of prevention
for data loss. Depending on the RAID configuration you use,
one or even several hard drives can fail before the data is
lost. Additionally, the use of hot swappable and hot
standby drives can be used to allow the server to continue
without ever having to be taken offline in the event a hard
drive fails. The key thing to notice here is that RAID can
protect you if a hard drive fails, but what happens if a
fire or natural disaster occurs? What do you do if your
database files become corrupted due to hardware or software
errors? Or what happens if a user deletes data that they
later need? A RAID configuration will not help you if any
of these events occurs. 


Remember, you can always replace the server, but the data on
that server is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
recover.

Page 2: Database Backup Types

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See All Articles by Columnist
Michael Aubert

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