SQL Server Backup and Restore - Simple Talk

Chapter 9: File and Filegroup Backup and Restore
Note that it is recommended, where possible, to take a full database backup and start
the log backups, before taking the first file backup (see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/
en-us/library/ms189860.aspx). We'll discuss this in more detail shortly, but note that, in
order to focus purely on the logistics of file backups, we don't follow this advice in
our examples.
Preparing for file backups
Before we get started taking file backups, we need to do the usual preparatory work,
namely choosing an appropriate recovery model for our database, and then creating that
database along with some populated sample tables. Since we've been through this process
many times now, I'll only comment on those parts of the scripts that are substantially
different from what has gone before. Please refer back to Chapters 3 and 5 if you need
further explanation of any other aspects of these scripts.
Recovery model
Since we've established the need to take log backups, we will need to operate the database
in FULL recovery model. We can also take log backups in the BULK_LOGGED model
but, as discussed in Chapter 1, this model is only suitable for short-term use during bulk
operations. For the long-term operation of databases requiring file backups, we should be
using the FULL recovery model.
Sample database and tables plus initial data load
Listing 9-6 shows the script to create a database with both a PRIMARY and a SECONDARY
filegroup, and one data file in each filegroup. Again, note that I've used the same drive
for each filegroup and the log file, purely as a convenience for this demo; in reality, they
would be on three different drives, as demonstrated previously in Listing 9-3.
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