To check the full backup duration of an SQL Instance
This script will check the full backup time taken by all the databases of an SQL Server instance.
2014-01-13 (first published: 2014-01-07)
1,364 reads
Backup
To check the Backup Status for an SQL Instance
This Script will fetch database backup information from msdb and give the idea about full, diffrential and log backup.
2014-01-10 (first published: 2014-01-04)
1,402 reads
Display Databases with X days without backup
Displays the information of the date of the latest backup that was done back to @daysago. When value is -0 it gives you all the backup information. The script also gives information on databases that never have been backed up.
2013-09-20 (first published: 2013-08-30)
1,584 reads
How Long Backups Will Take
When you are running a backup or a restore, this script gives you an estimate of completion time.
2013-06-14 (first published: 2013-05-30)
1,604 reads
Backup history details EMAIL (past 24 hours) in HTML format
Get backup status email daily to your inbox in HTML format.
2013-03-27 (first published: 2013-03-14)
2,381 reads
Be Careful Using LiteSpeed Extended Stored Procedures With SQL Agent
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.
2012-12-19
1,161 reads
How to Identify and Backup the Latest SQL Server Database in a Series
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.
2012-12-03
2,037 reads
11 Tips to Backup databases with SMO, VB, C# Powershell, Command lines
Sometimes we need to create backups using code. Sometimes we need to do it manually or automatically, programmatically using C#, VB, Powershell.
2012-08-14
7,614 reads
2012-07-31
2,259 reads
Backups, What Are They Good For?
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).
2012-05-25
3,824 reads
Blogs
Advice I Like: Ranch Rules
By Steve Jones
Leave a gate behind you the way you first found it. – from Excellent...
Fix Slow, Bloated MSDB: Purge Old History And Add Missing Indexes
By SQLPals
Fix Slow, Bloated MSDB: Purge Old History And Add Missing Indexes ...
Three Ways to Use Snowflake Data in Microsoft Fabric
By James Serra
Organizations increasingly want Snowflake and Microsoft Fabric to coexist without duplicating data or fragmenting...
Forums
25 Years of SQL Server Central
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The Decoded Value
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Decoded Value
Deploying SQL Server Developer Edition in Kubernetes: A Cost-Effective Alternative to RDS
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Deploying SQL Server Developer Edition...
Question of the Day
The Decoded Value
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned from this code:
DECLARE @message VARCHAR(50) = 'Hello SQL Server 2025!'; DECLARE @encoded VARCHAR(MAX); SET @encoded = BASE64_ENCODE(CAST(@message AS VARBINARY(1000))); SELECT BASE64_DECODE(@encoded)See possible answers