Someone might already have asked and/or answered this question, but I simply couldn't find any information on it yet.
I have a customer currently evaluating Veeam Backup & Replication. One of the features he is curious about is the Explorer for SQL Databases, especially the functionality to restore databases to a point in time.
I do know somewhat how this feature works as it is nicley described here: http://helpcenter.veeam.com/backup/80/e ... vesql.html
My only gripe with it is the fact that his database is quite large. We are talking about 1.5TB of data. I don't think it'll cause any issues while backing it up with VSS. But how does the restore exactly work? Do I really have to use a staging database as large as the production database just to restore it to a point in time? This is what I am currently uncertain about..
First of all, staging SQL server should be local. In other words, it should be installed on machine where backup server is currently located.
You don't have to have 1.5 TB free space on that server, what you actually must have is SQL server of appropriate edition - the one that supports db of that size. For instance, SQL express edition installed on a backup server doesn't meet this requirement, since Express edition doesn't support db bigger than 10 GB.
v.Eremin wrote:First of all, staging SQL server should be local. In other words, it should be installed on machine where backup server is currently located.
I already planned to use a full blown SQL instance for my backup server.
v.Eremin wrote:You don't have to have 1.5 TB free space on that server, what you actually must have is SQL server of appropriate edition - the one that supports db of that size.
If I don't need to have 1.5TB of capacity on my local drives, how does the point in time restore work then? Does it just rebuild parts of the database which were altered with the help of the shipped transaction logs?
The database files are transferred from backup repository directly to the target SQL server, along with transaction log files, which are then replayed there to the specified point in time. Moreover, for some types of restore staging server is not even required.
You are right. I misread some of the content in the helpcenter. For a point in time restore there is no need for a staging server. Only if you want to select a certain transaction which then should be undone.
