Data Backup and Recovery

Snapmanager for SQL server: Tail-Log backup

_Robert_
4,697 Views

Hi,

 

I have a few questions about Snapmanager for SQL server.

 

I want to be able to restore to a point in time/the latest point in time after the last transaction log backup in case of for example: damaged database(no damaged logfiles) / database is offline and fails to start.

In this situation it is common practice to:
- make a tail-log backup
- restore the latest full database backup and transaction log backups
- restore the tail-log backup

Snapmanager for SQL is configured to make full backups every night and transaction log backups are scheduled every hour.

 

- Is it possible to make a tail-log backup using Snapmanager for SQL?
- Is it possible to make a tail-log backup using SQL management Studio and use it with the full backup and transaction log backups from Snapmanager for SQL server?

 

Kind regards,


Robert

 

 

4 REPLIES 4

dmauro
4,645 Views

all you need in that scenario is what we call UpToTheMinute Restore. it will do exactly what you need: restore from the last full backup and replay all backed up logs + (if available) all most recent and not yet backed up logs in the Active File System.

 

hope that answers your question,

Domenico

_Robert_
4,618 Views

Thanks. That's exactly what we need! Is there any documentation how to configure this?

I don't have the up-to-the-minute option when I want to restore. The best option I have is to restore to the latest transaction log backup.

The Snapmanager for SQL documentation did not help much.

 

Robert

 

 

 

 

 

dmauro
4,600 Views

Hi,

so, here is where you can perform a UTM restore:

UpToTheMinute.PNG

 

 

if you don't click the "Point In Time" button, SMSQL will implicitly do a UTM restore.

However, please note that it will only replay logs which were previously backed up by a Full Backup or a Log only backup.

If you (at restore time) need a UTM including also the last minutes logs, I suggest you stop the connections to the SQL server, backup only the logs and perform the restore UTM as described above.

 

here is extra info from the IAG:

 

"How long do you want to retain transaction log backups on the source storage
system?
SnapManager needs transaction log backups to perform up-to-the-minute restore operations, which
restore your database to a time between two full backups. For example, if SnapManager took a full
backup at 8:00 a.m. and another full backup at 5:00 p.m, it could use the latest transaction log backup
to restore the database to any time between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. If transaction logs are not
available, SnapManager can perform point-in-time restore operations only, which restore a database
to the time that SnapManager completed a full backup.
Typically, you require up-to-the-minute restores for only a day or two, which means you would
retain transaction log backups for one or two days."

 

hope that clarifies things.

 

Domenico Di Mauro.

 

 

_Robert_
4,589 Views

Hi Domenico Di Mauro,

 

So the UpToTheMinute restore is actually not UpToTheMinute, but up to the minute of the most recent transaction log backup.

 

What you are saying is: Make a regular transaction log backup before you want to restore to the latest state?
In some situations it might not be possible to do that. That's where the Tail-log backup comes in.

 

Scenarios That Require a Tail-Log Backup:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms179314.aspx

 

I can't find the backup log options (No_Truncate, Continue_After_Error, With NoRecovery) which can be used for a Tail_log backup available in Snapmanager for SQL.
Am I correct, that this is just not possible in Snapmanager for SQL?

 

Regards Robert

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