Unify Your Backup and Recovery Strategy with LiteSpeed® for SQL ...

Unify Your Backup and Recovery Strategy with LiteSpeed®
for SQL Server and LiteSpeed® Engine for Oracle
DEVELOPING A BACKUP AND RECOVERY STRATEGY
Requirements
A backup and recovery strategy must address both the data growth issue and the
security issue. Specifically, a good database backup and recovery strategy must do
all of the following:
4
1. Provide a similar level of service for all platforms
2. Enable the DBA to maintain control over the backup and recovery
operations and over the backup files themselves
3. Maintain data security
4. Minimize storage needs
5. Minimize backup times
6. Minimize recovery times
Most of these points are obvious, but the second point—DBA control—is often
overlooked. If performing a backup and recovery requires more than one group,
then both the chances of error and the average human response time will increase
dramatically. Ideally, a single DBA should be able to perform a complete backup
and recovery operation alone, without needing to coordinate with or enlist the aid
of someone in another group.
Backup and Recovery Methods
Database backup and recovery methods can be divided into these four categories:
1. Native database backup utilities
2. Disk-storage system split-mirroring
3. Tape-storage system backup via DB agent
4. Third-party database backup software
For an in-depth look at the relative advantages and disadvantages of each, see the
Quest white paper Backup and Recovery Options in a Multi-Platform Environment.
The conclusion of that paper is that only a third-party product with the appropriate
set of features is really capable supporting a backup and recovery strategy that
effectively addresses all six needs listed above.