January 9, 2015 at 9:12 am
I had no backup problems with our 1.something TB ERP database as a single file backup until our network admin decided that We Must Use Microsoft Backup and I stopped doing SQL backups. It was regularly restored to test databases and thus was tested regularly. But I stopped being their DBA some 4ish years ago and could care less what they're up to now.
Myself, I found that enabling backup compression really sped up backups in addition to reducing the backup file size, I don't remember how the restore time compared vs uncompressed.
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January 9, 2015 at 9:28 am
If you use third-party backup software (I'm thinking of LiteSpeed, but I wouldn't be surprised if other products are similar) and you need to restore to a server that does not have the software installed, you will need to use an extraction utility to convert your backup file into something that native SQL Server can use. You will often find that what you get is a striped set of files. It's a good idea, therefore, to make sure you know how to restore from a striped set if you use such software, even if you don't (explicitly) stripe your backups.
John
January 9, 2015 at 10:38 am
Divine Flame (1/9/2015)
I only do that in situations where I need to backup the database urgently & no single drive attached to the server have enough space to store the complete full backup file of the said database.Other than above situation I find no use of this technique. May be it can provide little bit of performance improvement but the management effort in keeping those multiple backup files negates that. If I am keeping 4 backup files on 4 drives & any of the drive goes down I am out of backup ! so no, I am not comfortable with that.
It's a performance improvement for backups. However, you can't leave 4 files on 4 drives. You need to move them off to tape or another location to keep them safe.
January 9, 2015 at 10:40 am
John Mitchell-245523 (1/9/2015)
If you use third-party backup software (I'm thinking of LiteSpeed, but I wouldn't be surprised if other products are similar) and you need to restore to a server that does not have the software installed, you will need to use an extraction utility to convert your backup file into something that native SQL Server can use. You will often find that what you get is a striped set of files. It's a good idea, therefore, to make sure you know how to restore from a striped set if you use such software, even if you don't (explicitly) stripe your backups.John
The multiple files usually come about because Litespeed and SQL Backup Pro (Red Gate) use multiple threads to compress and then write. Each thread produces a file with the extractor.
January 9, 2015 at 12:30 pm
Sean McCown had a great session on this topic at the last SQL PASS Summit (DBA-307). Very much worth your time if you have the session DVD. One of his points was that the performance gains when taking the backup can be impressive, but on a restore they can be critical to reach a tight SLA.
That said, my company has stepped away from striped backups wherever possible to reduce the admin headache. They were a critical to get backups completed for our larger systems ten years ago, but modern hardware and backup compression have reduced the need in our case.
January 9, 2015 at 1:31 pm
Tony Lanterman (1/9/2015)
Sean McCown had a great session on this topic at the last SQL PASS Summit (DBA-307). Very much worth your time if you have the session DVD. One of his points was that the performance gains when taking the backup can be impressive, but on a restore they can be critical to reach a tight SLA.That said, my company has stepped away from striped backups wherever possible to reduce the admin headache. They were a critical to get backups completed for our larger systems ten years ago, but modern hardware and backup compression have reduced the need in our case.
Great session, I attended.
Do you know the link where people can buy the DVD?
January 12, 2015 at 6:58 am
Only small databases so no problems yet.
January 12, 2015 at 8:08 am
Tony Lanterman (1/9/2015)
Sean McCown had a great session on this topic at the last SQL PASS Summit (DBA-307). ... One of his points was that the performance gains when taking the backup can be impressive, but on a restore they can be critical to reach a tight SLA.
What does it mean here by critical ? Will they speed up the restore process or make them slow?
January 12, 2015 at 8:12 am
Will they speed up the restore process or make them slow?
Backup striping has signficantly increased the speed of my restores.
February 6, 2015 at 8:36 am
I remain amazed at the lack of testing of backups!!!
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
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