Types of Backups
We’ve already discussed several topics involving transaction log backups, but of course transaction log backups cannot be used to restore a database by themselves. To restore a database, you must have a base backup of the data files. You can choose to back up only parts of a database at a time, such as a file or filegroup, or an entire database. The many different types of backups available can be confusing, so I will try to simplify them by highlighting when you might want to use each type. The different backup categories—data, differential, and log—and the types within each category are described in the following sections.
Note
Backups are an online process. When SQL Server performs a backup, the database being backed up remains ...
Get Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Administrator's Companion now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
