SQL Server: Understanding and Performing Backups

By Paul Randal
No matter the task you're performing in SQL Server, backups are essential to protect your data. Learn what SQL Server backups are, how they work, how to perform backups, and how to put together an effective backup strategy for your environment.
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Course info
Rating
(45)
Level
Intermediate
Updated
Nov 7, 2017
Duration
2h 27m
Table of contents
Course Overview
Course Overview 1m
Introduction
Introduction and Why Perform Backups 4m Planning a Backup Strategy 1m Backup Types and Methods 2m Demo: Basic Backup and Restore Commands 5m Don't Forget System Databases 1m Course Objectives, Course Structure, and Module Summary 3m
Full and Differential Data Backups
Introduction and Full Backups 2m How a Full Database Backup Works 4m Demo: How Much Log in a Full Backup 6m Differential Backups and How They Work 2m Demo: Differential Backup Sizes 6m Data Backup Concerns and Module Summary 2m
Transaction Log Backups
Introduction and Transaction Log Backups 3m How a Log Backup Works 3m Demo: Log Backups and Log Clearing 8m Deferred Log Clearing and Module Summary 2m
Log Backup Options and Considerations
Introduction and Minimal Logging 4m Demo: Log Backups and Minimal Logging 3m Log Backup Chain 2m Examining Log Backup Contents 1m Demo: Examining Log Backup Contents 6m Tail-of-the-log Backups 1m Demo: Tail-of-the-log Backups 3m Special Case and Module Summary 2m
Backup Strategies
Introduction and Plan a Restore Strategy 2m Planning the Strategy 4m Using Filegroups 3m Backup Storage and Retention 4m Backup Strategies 2m Recovering Using Backups 1m Demo: Restore Sequences 4m Falling Back on Log Backups and Module Summary 2m
General Backup Options
Introduction and Commonly Used Backup Options 5m COPY_ONLY Backups 3m Demo: Using COPY_ONLY 5m Multi-file Backups 3m Demo: Multi-file Backups 5m Backup Performance and Module Summary 2m
Backup Compression, Encryption, and Integrity
Introduction and Backup Compression 4m Demo: Backup Compression 4m Backup Encryption 2m Demo: Transparent Data Encryption and Backups 3m Backup Integrity Using CHECKSUM and CONTINUE_AFTER_ERROR 3m Demo: Backup Integrity 4m Module and Course Summaries, and Resources 3m Final Words 2m
Description
Course info
Rating
(45)
Level
Intermediate
Updated
Nov 7, 2017
Duration
2h 27m
Description

It's really impossible to escape the need for backups even if you have some sort of synchronous replica of your databases, disasters can still happen that require restoring from backups. This means it's critical that you understand what backups are and how to create them. In this course, SQL Server: Understanding and Performing Backups, you'll learn what SQL Server backups are, why they're required, and how they work. First, you'll explore how to formulate a backup strategy based on business requirements and what restores you may need to perform. Next, you'll delve into commonly used backup options. Finally, you'll discover how to use backup compression, backup encryption, and maintain backup integrity. When you're finished with this course, you'll have the skills and knowledge to confidently perform backups in your environment and create a backup strategy.

About the author
Paul Randal
About the author

Paul is the CEO of SQLskills.com, a Microsoft Regional Director and a SQL Server MVP. He worked on the SQL Server Storage Engine team at Microsoft from 1999 to 2007. Among other things, he wrote DBCC CHECKDB/repair for SQL Server 2005 and was responsible for the Core Storage Engine during SQL Server 2008 development.

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Section Introduction Transcripts
Section Introduction Transcripts

Course Overview
Hello, my name is Paul Randal and welcome to my course, SQL Server: Understanding and Performing Backups. I'm a SQL Server consultant with SQLskills, as well as a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. And this topic is one that I've been presenting for many years because I find that many data professionals don't understand how backups work, the problems you can run into around backups, and how to formulate an effective backup strategy. It's really impossible to escape the need for backups, because whatever you're doing with SQL Server, you're at least going to want to protect your data. In this course, we're going to cover what the various kinds of backups are and how they work, including topics like transaction log clearing and performing special tail-log backups. We'll discuss how to put together a backup strategy based on business requirements, and how your restore strategy really dictates what backups you need to perform. Finally, we'll examine a bunch of common backup options, including backup compression, backup encryption, and backup integrity. By the end of this course, you'll have a really good understanding of why backups are important, how backups work, and how to create an effective backup strategy for your environment. If you work with SQL Server in any capacity, whatever your level, this course is relevant to you, and you only need a basic understanding of SQL Server to comfortably follow along. I hope you'll join me here as we explore the many aspects of backups in this course, SQL Server: Understanding and Performing Backups, here on Pluralsight.

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