Introduction
The appropriate SQL Server disaster recovery plan means to be prepared for tackling with physical as well as logical cases of database loss to bring the server back into a running state, and not just the recovery of data once it is already been lost. Different types of disasters could range from accidental deletion of data, failure of hard drive, server misconfiguration resulting in failure of deployments, etc. However, when a disaster actually hits it happens to take place in the most instant and unfamiliar ways causing the administrators to take unskilled actions against it, resulting in the worsening of the situation.
Dealing With Master MDF File Corruption
On the installation of SQL Server, five different types of system database files are automatically created, namely; Resource (in 2005 and above versions of Server), master database, model, tempdb, and msdb. Corruption of master.mdf usually results in a catastrophic loss regaining which either requires restoration or rebuilding of the database entirely. Users highly rely upon reinstalling the entire server from the scratch in case of such disasters, as part of their recovery plan. Instead, the rebuilding of database followed by its restoration from the last best known backup is considered more reliable and solution generative. However, rebuilding is known to be a kind of sluggish procedure that may take up a lifetime causing a lot of time being consumed in trial and error method only, mostly when performed on a cluster.
Recovery of Backup Meant for Database Restoration
Backups are not the only escape from database related disasters and not even the ultimate way to attain continuity. Though, backups have proven to be the foremost choice of administrators to bring back lost database to its full-fledged state. Microsoft offers a variety of backup options, for SQL Server database, to choose from wherein the size of storage done by server determines the right plan for its backup. However, the mere existence of a backup on the machine doesn’t necessarily imply its usability. An existing backup if not tested for restoration process since creation could possibly be troublesome at the very time of disaster as things will take place haphazardly.
How to restore the database, which component to be restored or how to restore all components – and many such baffling queries tend to arise at the time of performing backup restoration. Thus, regular or at least alternate testing ensures whether the backup is in a state of restoration or not. As at the end if you find backups to be corrupted at the time of requirement, then they have failed the very purpose of existence itself. And you can
Restoration of Database through Transaction Log
Transaction logs maintain the history of tasks performed on a database, whether a query inserted, dropped, or so on. Being an integral part of each database on the SQL Server, it also holds a lot of importance in the scenario of disaster recovery, however; the only condition is that the log must not be in a corrupt state to come in use for the respective purposes. Every modification that takes place in the database is logged into the transaction in the form of a log record in a sequential manner. In case of a system failure, bringing a database back into a consistent state the transaction log file is required. Unless the complexities and consequences of deleting or moving a transaction log file for an essential database is known and understood, the action must not be taken.
Accessing SQL Database During Server Downtime
The term disaster recovery was coined on the basis of maintaining server and database continuity despite disasters causing physical damage to the server resulting in compromise with database. Like any high end servers, SQL Server administrators are usually prepared with backups and disaster management plans to deal with the consequences. However, backups play no role in bringing back business continuity when the server is in downtime leaving the database in an orphaned state. On studying the cases of SQL Server downtime, applying patches of service packs majorly resulted in the end of server operation. Moreover, cases like unknown technical glitches like; server crash, bug infection, administration error, and more have resulted in the necessity of maintenance. Therefore, the server database even in a healthy state remains to be of no use when the server itself is not in an up and running state to support its accessibility.
Solution: Server administrators employ many different workarounds in order to keep server operation and database integrity maintained. Therefore, making the tasks more cumbersome rather than streamlining it. Master database backup, log backup, server maintenance without compromising operations, and much more has to be done by the admins in order to achieve optimal disaster recovery. A variety of commercial solutions in the market offer rather more helpful ways to deal with SQL Server and its storage related disaster, compared to the standard methods employed.
Conclusion
SQL Server Recovery Manager serves a unified platform for performing most of the SQL Serve disaster recovery serving procedures, including; database recovery, backup recovery, and standalone access of database (without SQL Server), usage of transaction log entries for relatively quicker database restoration, decryption of database, and more. The application has distinguished modules to serve each of the defined purposes and is purchasable under respective user based licenses. However, a demonstration version of the same makes it possible for the application to be tested thoroughly for its potential.
