SQL Server Backup and Restore - Simple Talk

Chapter 3: Full Database Backups
subject to a moderate level of data modification, but the flexibility of full point-in-time
restore, via log backups, is not required, then the Backup SLA can stipulate simply that
nightly full database backups should be taken.
The majority of the development and testing databases that I look after receive only a
nightly full database backup. In the event of corruption or data loss, I can get the developers
and testers back to a good working state by restoring the previous night's full
backup. In theory, these databases are exposed to a maximum risk of losing just less than
24 hours of data changes. However, in reality, the risk is much lower since most development
happens during a much narrower daytime window. This risk is usually acceptable
in development environments, but don't just assume this to be the case; make sure you
get sign-off from the project owners.
For a database subject only to very infrequent changes, it may be acceptable to take only a
weekly full backup. Here the risk of loss is just under seven days, but if the database really
is only rarely modified then the overall risk is still quite low.
Remember that the whole point of a Backup SLA is to get everyone with a vested interest
to "sign off" on acceptable levels of data loss for a given database. Work with the database
owners to determine the backup strategy that works best for their databases and for you
as the DBA. You don't ever want to be caught in a situation where you assumed a certain
level of data loss was acceptable and it turned out you were wrong.
Preparing for Full Backups
We're going to run through examples of how to take full backups only, using both
SSMS and T-SQL scripts. Chapter 4 will show how to restore these backups, and then
Chapters 5 and 6 will show how to take and restore log backups, and Chapter 7 will cover
differential backup and restore. In Chapter 8, we'll show how to manage full, differential
and log backups, using a third-party tool (Red Gate SQL Backup) and demonstrate some
of the advantages that such tools offer.
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