KenpoDBA (1/6/2011)

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Yeah, I understand that, but it's not a good idea to allow business users to backup DBs to begin with. They put backups in odd locations and fill up the drive. One guy doesn't know another guy just took a backup and next thing you know your resources are being spent taking one after another.

A much better way to handle it is to train them to email the DBAs when they need a backup... or better yet, schedule it for them. A progress bar isn't necessary then and a DBA can tune the backup to perform better anyway. I try never to let anyone outside the DBA group backup a DB if at all possible. It only brings heartbreak later when they call us to fix whatever they've done wrong. So I put in some procedures that make it easy for us to back them up should they need something outside the regular scheduled process, and then just respond to those emails quickly. If you do it right, it only takes a few secs to kick off the backup so it's little burden on you.

So just explain to them that you've got some intricate things in place that have to be done a certain way (space mgmt, log backups, etc) and you need to make sure nobody is taking backups out-of-cycle... and explain to them that they don't wanna be spending their time taking backups anyway. They usually agree as long as they get good service. Have them try it your way on a trial basis if they're concerned. The first couple times are the hardest then they find they actually like not having to mess with it.

As for the article, I agree with the others that it was quite well-written. It was clear, methodic, and said what it needed to say. The only problem I have is with the content. It's just not something that needs to be taught. It's like having a very well-written article on how to turn on autoShrink for all your DBs.