Posts Categorized: SQL Server Backup and Recovery

Introducing sp_CheckBackup: Check Your SQL Server Backups for Recoverability Issues

SQL Server database backup tool for checking recoverability issues

Whether you are backing up your SQL Server databases with Ola Hallengren’s scripts, Maintenance Plans, or some third-party software, your backups are your lifeline for recovering your data in case of a disaster. So…are your databases recoverable? Do you know WHERE your most recent backups were written? Do you know WHEN they were written? Did … Read more

Audit Your Database Backup Chain!

how to audit sql server database backup chains

All database administrators know that safeguarding data is paramount and having a strong restore strategy is crucial. In this post, I would like to add another tool to your arsenal that I have found helpful in auditing server health and configurations as it pertains to backups and the backup chain. A backup chain is important … Read more

Make SQL Server Database Restores Easy With sp_DatabaseRestore

easy sql server database restores

If you’ve read the Straight Path blog for any period of time, you’ve probably noticed more than a few posts about database backups. You may have also noticed we’re big fans of the Ola Hallengren Maintenance Solution for backups, which creates stored procedures and jobs to handle your regular backups. These scripts and jobs are … Read more

Manage Your Transactions (So they don’t manage you – Part 1)

This is part 3 in a series on shrinking and transaction management. Click here for part 4. You can see them all in the Shrinking & Transactions category. If you are one of the people who have been reading this blog, you know where I stand on shrinking databases/log files. I don’t like the practice (Post 1, … Read more

Do you focus too much on your backups???

Have you lost your mind?! What could I possibly mean by that title? I’m a DBA… One of the basic tenets of a DBA is “backup, backup, backup”, right? Well sort of… Far too often I hear people asking questions like “will this setup allow our backups to be fast?”, “how is your backup process … Read more