I'm curious about the best practices for backing up SQL servers. Do you typically back up databases separately, and how do you manage OS backups? Are there specific intervals or strategies you follow for full backups versus incremental backups?
5 Answers
From what I've seen, restoring SQL servers can often be tricky. So, I suggest backing up the whole server, but also creating file-level backups of your latest .bak files. This way, if a full restore fails, you've got that backup to fall back on.
I had a great experience with Veeam for SQL VMs in my last job. We backed them up daily and captured transaction logs every 15 minutes. Plus, the DBAs used a fast recovery dump, which was quicker than dealing with logs.
A solid approach is to do incremental database backups every few hours and a full backup each night. Weekly, I’d recommend a backup of the OS or host system too. This way, you're covered on multiple fronts.
It ultimately comes down to your needs. In my last setup, we had critical systems backing up fully every day with logs every 10 minutes. Other systems did daily backups and logs every half hour. You really need to align with leadership on how much data loss is acceptable.
If you're using Veeam, definitely consider doing a synthetic full backup weekly, along with nightly incrementals. It's helped me keep things efficient and reliable.
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