UBQ ID Number: UBQ000020
Last Modified: 2000-06-01
SUMMARY:
Advantages of doing a static (file-by-file) backup of SQL and Exchange.
Note: Some users wish to have redundant Static (cold) backups of their SQL and Exchange databases. This can be done using the before and after job commands. In the past the task of restoring a Static (cold) backup has been relatively easy. However, this changes with Exchange 2000 and SQL 7.5. Now multiple Information Stores and SQL Servers run on a single computer. This adds a large degree of complexity and it is now suggested (by Microsoft and UltraBac) to only use Static (cold) backups for redundancy and NOT to rely on a Static (cold) backup as a means of recovery.
DETAILS:
Many users backup Exchange and SQL using the UltraBac agents. When a database becomes corrupt the agents do very well in restoring the databases. However, in the event of the total loss of a disk two restores are required to get the databases up and running.
First you need to do a total file-by-file restore. Upon the completion of a file-by-file restore the databases will probably NOT start. This is because the databases were not backed up by the file-by-file backup. (They were in use – Exclusively Locked) and thus the reason for the agents in the first place.
Since you have to have the database running in order to do a restore of the database, this may seem like a "Catch-22" and to some extent it is. The procedure to get around this is to install SQL or Exchange over top of the existing installation and create new (blank) databases. If you are comfortable with SQL or Exchange Administration then this is not necessarily a big deal. But it might be convenient to have a static backup of an SQL/Exchange database that has the most recent configuration changes. Since the basic configuration doesn't change very often, a static backup occasionally would be all you would need.
With an archived static backup, you could do a file-by-file restore of the most recent full backup and a file-by-file restore of the archive (MSSQL or Exchange directories only), your database service would start. It would be older, but would start just fine. This is often used as fault-tolerance backups as well. You can now complete the restore process by restoring the latest full agent backup of your Exchange or SQL databases.
UltraBac conveniently has the "Before (set) Jobs" option to shut SQL/Exchange down and the "After (set) Job" option to start it up again. The actual commands to start and stop SQL or Exchange are available below. It would really only be necessary to include the MSSQL or Exchange directories in these sets. REMEMBER if you have SQL or Exchange spread over multiple partitions to include all partitions that contain SQL or Exchange data, transaction logs, and program files.
MORE INFORMATION:
See UBQ: UBQ000016 – Before/After Backup Option Syntax
See UBQ: UBQ000018 – Backup Set Format
See UBQ: UBQ000021 – SQL Stop/Start Command Lines
See UBQ: UBQ000035 – Before/After Job Macros for Sets and Groups
See UBQ: UBQ000038 – Exchange Stop/Start Command Lines
CATEGORIES:
Backup Sets, Before/After Commands, Exchange, Setup, SQL
VERSION:
2.x to 5.x
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