SQL 2008 update

  • We use SQL 2008 Express to customers sites. We need to maintain a backup to our portal. We first take a full backup from each customer site and then restore it to our portal. Then, on a regular basis, we need to restore to our portal only the changes made to customers dbs. So, we need to take the changes made after full backup or after the last restore and 'play' them to our portal db. The customers do not have internet connections, they run on Vessels, so the backup file should be as small as possible. Differential file is not small.

    Are there any other options ?

  • You better use log shipping.

    _____________
    Code for TallyGenerator

  • Log shipping is not available to SQL express editions

  • ionas (7/19/2016)


    Log shipping is not available to SQL express editions

    You can still backup and restore logs.

    Just ship to other sites them using different tools, say, robocopy.

    _____________
    Code for TallyGenerator

  • I am not sure I understand the idea behind. Robocopy is a copy tool. The point is how to use log shipping to SQL express versions.

  • ionas (7/19/2016)


    I am not sure I understand the idea behind. Robocopy is a copy tool. The point is how to use log shipping to SQL express versions.

    You do BACKUP LOG ob the main database, ROBOCOPY the backup to the Portal host and "play" the log backup on the Portal database.

    Of course, you need to control the sequence of backups, consistency, error handling, manage the outages, etc.

    All those things which are included into MS Shipped "Log Shipping" solution - you need to program them yourself.

    But it's probably a good thing.

    _____________
    Code for TallyGenerator

  • If we follow your suggestion, what we need is:

    1. We get from source at the begging a full backup and restore it destination.

    2. Everyday we get the daily log file (*.trn) from source and restore it to destination.

    The sequence seems ok. But what we need also is the destination to be online. Is this feasible ? Because, as I understand, we need to use "WITH NORECOVERY" to the first restore (from full backup) in order to be able to restore the following log files. And this brings the database to 'a restoring state', which we don't want because we need the destination to be on line.

    So, the question is how can we restore a full backup with the destination being on line after restore and then every night we restore the coming log files ?

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