Need to backup physical SQL server DB to a VM

[aeccles]

HOping some of you have been through this and have tackled this one...
I'm working in an environment that is fully virtualized with the exception of two physical SQL servers- DBs are 30gb raw between the two of them. No virtualization opportunity for a few years.
My thought was to backup the databases to virtualized file server then back that VM up with veeam, but I'm wondering what the best method is. Essentially, I'd like something that would backup, truncate the logs, then leave a compressed backup file on my file server. Ideally it would be a full backup once a week and incrementals daily, but I could live with daily fulls. Is there anyway to pull this off using something lightweight like just a .zip or something so my restore process wouldn't involve a lot of applications?

Thanks

[joergr]

Hi,

why not simply virtualize the sql machines?

OK - you want to keep the physical boxes and asking how to use backup em with virtualization? This is some crazy idea..but you probably already know this by now..you COULD think of some scary idea where you would install ms dpm into a vm and backup your sql machines using dpm bare metal plus sql aware backup. And you would instruct dpm to backup all that stuff to the local (virtual) hard drives. Thus, in a case of extreme disaster you COULD try to restore the bare metal to a virtual machine OR to new hardware.

But hey - PLEASE don´t take this %QÄ&%! idea as an actual recommendation! I would not recommend something like this

Best regards,
Joerg

[aeccles]

Hi Joerg,

The application vendors unfortunately don't currently support their software in a VM and won't until the next release (2 years away.) It's simply not an option.

I'm not actually concerned with backing up the entire physical box/OS- I just want the database. And I know that is easy to accomplish on the surface, but given the size of the databases I really need to add some form of compression of the initial backup files when I store them on disk. That's essentially what I am looking for... a lightweight SQL backup tool that will truncate the logs and compress the backup. If there was some way to have Veeam trigger that backup tool before the veeam job runs, that would pie in the sky.

Aaron

[joergr]

Hi,

i am not exactly the sql expert but i guess you can use sql management console to create a scheduled backup job as a sql task with also can truncate logs. and while you´re at it i guess you could create a batch or ps which could trigger this job which you could call from within veeam. In a ps you could communicate directly to the sql server and with a batch you could execute it with some remote exec tool like e.g. psexec.

When it comes to compression i´d suggest to use veeam compression and dedup - doing both an excellent job (compress+dedup).

Best regards,
Joerg

[veremin]

If there was some way to have Veeam trigger that backup tool before the veeam job runs, that would pie in the sky.

Yes, there is. As Joerg has rightly pointed out, you should pun PS into use. Within the script, you should execute native SQL tools first, and, then, initiate job start.

The job can be started with the following script:

Code: Select all

Get-VBRJob -name "Name of your Backup Job" | Start-VBRJob

Thanks.

[Vitaliy S.]

If there was some way to have Veeam trigger that backup tool before the veeam job runs, that would pie in the sky.

There is no need to have Veeam trigger that backup tool. You can use Windows Task Schedule to schedule your SQL Server backups via Management studio, and after that trigger a script that Vladimir has posted above.

[aeccles]

very helpful information, thanks to all of you

[veremin]

You're welcome. Feel free to ask, if any additional help is needed. Thanks.