I have to support a third party application that periodically creates a new database on the fly. This obviously causes issues with our backup mechanisms. The databases have a particular pattern for naming, so I can identify the set of databases, however, I need to make sure I'm always backing up the newest one. Read this tip to ensure you are backing up your latest database in a series.  Read more...

It’s uncommon that a SQL Server DBA needs to create a customized backup and restore routine for an application using combination of LiteSpeed extended stored procedures. However, you should be really careful when you are implementing such a solution.  Read more...

Sometimes we need to create backups using code. Sometimes we need to do it manually or automatically, programmatically using C#, VB, Powershell.   Read more...

We've heard the confessional story from Pixar that Toy Story 2 was almost lost due to a bad backup, but sometimes there is no 'almost'. Grant Fritchey casts a sympathetic eye over some catastrophic data losses, and gives advice on how to avoid what he has termed an RGE (résumé generating event).  Read more...

A DBA's tasks, from day-to-day, are rarely constant; with one exception: the need to ensure each and every day that any database in their charge can be restored and recovered, in the event of error of disaster. In this book, you'll discover how to perform each of these backup and restore operations using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), basic T-SQL scripts and Red Gate's SQL Backup tool.  Read more...

Backups are an everyday part of DBA life, whereas restores tend to happen on call at 3 a.m. In this article, Grant Fritchey looks at what you should be doing to make your restores as quick and seamless as possible.  Read more...

A Backup system is merely part of a recovery system. If your backups can't be used to recover the database, then they're useless. Do you regularly make sure that you can restore a database from your backups?  Read more...

We’d like your thoughts on what new features should go into our backup tools. Let us know by completing this short survey.  Read more...

How can I use PowerShell to do a Transaction Log backup for SQL Server databases? In this tip we look at an alternative way of creating transaction log backups using a PowerShell script.  Read more...

If you're starting to learn PowerShell and want to see how you can use it for common DBA tasks, this tip will show you how to create a basic PowerShell script to backup all your user databases.  Read more...

Sometimes things that seem complicated are much easier then you think and this is the power of using T-SQL to take care of repetitive tasks. One of these tasks may be the need to backup all databases on your server.  Read more...