NetBackup™ for Microsoft SQL Server Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup & Alta Data Protection (10.4)
  1. Introducing NetBackup for SQL Server
    1.  
      Overview of NetBackup for SQL Server
  2. Installation
    1.  
      Planning the installation of NetBackup for SQL Server
    2.  
      NetBackup server and client requirements
    3.  
      Requirements for using NetBackup for SQL Server in a NetBackup cluster
    4.  
      License for NetBackup for SQL Server
  3. Host configuration and job settings
    1.  
      Configuring SQL Server hosts and user permissions
    2.  
      Installing the Veritas VSS provider for vSphere
    3.  
      Disabling the SQL Server VSS Writer service
    4.  
      Configuring the NetBackup services for SQL Server backups and restores
    5.  
      Configure local security privileges for SQL Server
    6.  
      Reviewing the auto-discovered mappings
    7.  
      Configuring mappings for restores of a distributed applications, clusters, or virtual machines
    8.  
      Configuring the ODBC connection
    9.  
      Configure NetBackup for the SQL Server non-readable secondary instances that are hidden
    10.  
      Configuring the primary server host name for the SQL Server agent
    11.  
      Configure the number of jobs allowed for backup operations
    12.  
      Configure the Maximum jobs per client setting
  4. Managing SQL Server objects for use with SQL Server Intelligent Policies
    1.  
      About the Applications utility
    2. About discovery of SQL Server objects
      1.  
        Discovering instances on demand
      2.  
        Discover advanced or basic availability groups on demand
      3.  
        Discover read-scale availability groups
    3. About registering SQL Server instances and availability replicas
      1.  
        About SQL Server credentials
      2.  
        Registering a SQL Server instance or availability replica
      3. Registering instances or availability replicas with an instance group
        1.  
          Adding an instance or availability replica to an instance group
        2.  
          Validating instance group credentials
      4.  
        Registering instances or availability replicas automatically
      5.  
        Authorizing a DBA to register instances or availability replicas with the nbsqladm command
    4.  
      Deleting SQL Server objects from the Applications utility
    5.  
      Manually add a SQL Server instance
    6.  
      Deactivating or activating an instance
    7.  
      Cleaning up instances
  5. Configuring backups with SQL Server Intelligent Policy
    1.  
      About SQL Server Intelligent Policies
    2.  
      Creating a SQL Server Intelligent Policy
    3.  
      About policy attributes
    4.  
      About schedule properties
    5.  
      Schedule backup types for SQL Server Intelligent Policies
    6.  
      Adding instances to a policy
    7.  
      Adding databases to a policy
    8.  
      Adding filegroups or files to the backup selections list
    9.  
      Manually adding files or filegroups to the backup selections list
    10.  
      Adding instance groups to a backup policy
    11. About tuning parameters for SQL Server backups
      1.  
        Configuring multistriped backups of SQL Server
    12.  
      Backing up read-only filegroups
    13.  
      Backing up read-write filegroups
  6. Performing restores of SQL Server
    1.  
      Starting the NetBackup MS SQL Client for the first time
    2.  
      Selecting the SQL Server host and instance
    3.  
      Browsing for SQL Server backup images
    4.  
      Options for NetBackup for SQL Server restores
    5.  
      Restoring a SQL Server database backup
    6.  
      Staging a full SQL Server database recovery
    7.  
      Restoring SQL Server filegroup backups
    8.  
      Recovering a SQL Server database from read-write filegroup backups
    9.  
      Restoring SQL Server read-only filegroups
    10.  
      Restoring SQL Server database files
    11.  
      Restoring a SQL Server transaction log image without staging a full recovery
    12.  
      Performing a SQL Server database move
    13.  
      About performing a SQL Server page-level restore
    14.  
      Configuring permissions for redirected restores
    15. Redirecting a SQL Server database to a different host
      1.  
        About selecting a primary server
    16.  
      Performing a restore of a remote SQL Server installation
    17.  
      Restoring multistreamed SQL Server backups
    18.  
      About using bplist to retrieve SQL Server backups
    19.  
      About NetBackup for SQL Server backup names
  7. Protecting SQL Server data with VMware backups
    1. About protecting an application database with VMware backups
      1.  
        Limitations of VMware application backups
    2.  
      About configuring NetBackup for VMware backups that protect SQL Server
    3.  
      Configuring the NetBackup services for a VMware backup that protects SQL Server
    4.  
      Configuring a VMware backup policy to protect SQL Server
    5.  
      Configuring a VMware policy to protect SQL Server using Replication Director to manage snapshot replication
    6.  
      Restore SQL Server databases from a VMware backup
  8. Configuring backups with Snapshot Client
    1.  
      About NetBackup Snapshot Client for SQL Server
    2.  
      How SQL Server operations use Snapshot Client
    3.  
      Snapshot methods
    4.  
      Configuration requirements for SQL Server snapshot and Instant Recovery backups
    5.  
      Configuring a snapshot policy for SQL Server
    6.  
      Configuring a policy for Instant Recovery backups of SQL Server
    7. Using copy-only snapshot backups to affect how differentials are based
      1.  
        Creating a copy-only backup (legacy SQL Server policies)
      2.  
        Creating an Instant Recovery backup that is not copy-only (legacy SQL Server policies)
    8. About SQL Server agent grouped snapshots
      1.  
        Restoring a database backed up in a group
  9. Protecting SQL Server availability groups
    1.  
      About protecting SQL Server availability groups
    2. Protecting SQL Server availability groups with intelligent policies
      1.  
        Prerequisites for protecting SQL Server availability groups
      2. Configuring a backup policy to protect a SQL Server availability group
        1.  
          Adding an availability group to a policy
        2.  
          Adding availability databases to a policy
        3.  
          Adding filegroups or files in an availability database to the backup selections list
    3. Protecting SQL Server availibility groups with legacy policies
      1. About protecting the preferred replica in a SQL Server availability group (legacy backup policies)
        1.  
          Prerequisites for protecting SQL Server availability groups
        2.  
          Configuring an automatic backup policy for the preferred or the primary replica of a SQL Server availability group
        3.  
          Creating batch files for the policy that protects the preferred or the primary replica
        4.  
          Adding the batch files to the policy that protects the preferred or the primary replica
      2. About protecting a specific node in a SQL Server availability group (legacy backup policies)
        1.  
          Configuring an automatic backup policy for a specific replica of a SQL Server availability group
        2.  
          Creating a batch file for the policy that protects a specific availability replica in an availability group
        3.  
          Adding the batch files to the policy that protects a specific replica in the availability group
    4.  
      Protect a SQL Server availability group that crosses NetBackup domains
    5.  
      Browsing for SQL Server availability group backup images
    6.  
      Restoring a SQL Server availability database to a secondary replica
    7.  
      Restoring a SQL Server availability database to the primary and the secondary replicas
    8.  
      Restoring an availability database when an availability group crosses NetBackup domains
  10. Protecting SQL Server in a cluster environment
    1.  
      Configuring backups of clustered SQL Server instances (SQL Server Intelligent Policy)
    2.  
      Configuring backups of clustered SQL Server instances (legacy SQL Server policies)
    3.  
      Performing a restore of a virtual SQL Server instance
  11. Configuring backups with legacy SQL Server policies using clients and batch files
    1.  
      About legacy SQL Server policies
    2.  
      About configuring backups with legacy SQL Server policies
    3.  
      Configuring the NetBackup services for SQL Server backups and restores (legacy SQL Server policies)
    4.  
      About SQL Server security with NetBackup legacy backup policies
    5. About using batch files with NetBackup for SQL Server
      1.  
        Keywords and values used in batch files
      2.  
        Creating a batch file
      3.  
        Running batch files
    6.  
      Adding a new SQL Server legacy policy
    7. About schedule properties
      1.  
        Legacy policy backup types
      2.  
        Converting differential backups to full backups
      3.  
        Configuring an application backup schedule
      4.  
        Example application backup schedule
      5.  
        Configuring automatic backup schedules
      6.  
        Example automatic backup schedule
    8.  
      Adding clients to a policy
    9.  
      Adding batch files to the backup selections list
    10.  
      Selecting the SQL Server host and instance
    11.  
      Options for SQL Server backup operations
    12.  
      About viewing the properties of the objects selected for backup
    13. Performing user-directed backups of SQL Server databases
      1.  
        Performing user-directed backups of SQL Server transaction logs
      2.  
        Performing user-directed backups of SQL Server database filegroups
      3. Performing user-directed backups of read-only filegroups
        1.  
          Viewing SQL Server read-only backup sets
      4.  
        Performing user-directed backups of read-write filegroups
      5.  
        Performing user-directed backups of SQL Server database files
      6.  
        Performing partial database backups
    14.  
      Performing a backup of a remote SQL Server installation
    15.  
      About automatic retry of unsuccessful SQL Server backups
  12. Using NetBackup for SQL Server with multiple NICs
    1.  
      About configuration of SQL Server backups with multiple NICs
    2.  
      Configuring the NetBackup client with the private interface name
    3.  
      Configuring backups of SQL Server when you have multiple NICs (SQL Server Intelligent Policies)
    4.  
      Configuring backups for SQL Server when you have multiple NICs (legacy SQL Server policies)
    5.  
      Performing restores of SQL Server when you have multiple NICs
    6.  
      Configuring backups of a SQL Server cluster when you have multiple NICs (SQL Server Intelligent Policies)
    7.  
      Configuring backups of a SQL Server cluster when you have multiple NICs (legacy SQL Server policies)
    8.  
      Creating a batch file for backups of a SQL Server cluster when you have multiple NICs (legacy SQL Server policies)
    9.  
      Performing restores of a SQL Server cluster when you have multiple NICs
  13. Performance and troubleshooting
    1.  
      What are the components of NetBackup for SQL Server?
    2.  
      How does NetBackup for SQL Server back up a database?
    3.  
      How does NetBackup for SQL Server recover a database?
    4.  
      Performing a manual backup
    5. About debug logging for SQL Server troubleshooting
      1.  
        Setting the debug level on a NetBackup for SQL Server client
      2.  
        Veritas VSS provider logs
    6.  
      NetBackup for SQL Server performance factors
    7.  
      About monitoring NetBackup for SQL Server operations
    8.  
      Setting the maximum trace level for NetBackup for SQL Server
    9.  
      Troubleshooting credential validation
    10.  
      Reporting of unsuccessful filegroup or file backups
    11.  
      About minimizing timeout failures on large SQL Server database restores
    12.  
      Troubleshooting VMware backups
    13.  
      SQL Server log truncation failure during VMware backups of SQL Server
    14.  
      SQL Server restore fails when you restore a SQL Server compressed backup image as a single stripe or with multiple stripes
    15.  
      Incorrect backup images are displayed for availability group clusters
    16.  
      A restore of a SQL Server database fails with Status Code 5, or Error (-1), when the host name of the SQL Server or the SQL Server database name has trailing spaces
    17.  
      A move operation fails with Status Code 5, or Error (-1), when the SQL Server host name, the database name, or the database logical name has trailing spaces
    18.  
      Unable to discover or browse availability group replicas
    19. About disaster recovery of SQL Server
      1.  
        Preparing for disaster recovery of SQL Server
      2.  
        Recovering SQL Server databases after disaster recovery
  14. Appendix A. Other configurations
    1.  
      Configuring multiplexed backups of SQL Server
    2.  
      Restoring a multiplexed SQL Server backup
    3. About SQL Server backups and restores in an SAP environment
      1. Creating batch files for automatic backups in for SQL Server in an SAP environment
        1.  
          Creating a batch file for database backups
        2.  
          Creating a batch file for transaction log backups
      2.  
        Monitoring backups on SQL Server
      3. Restoring the R/3 database
        1.  
          About including differential backups in a restore operation
        2.  
          Restoring the R/3 database after a disk crash
        3.  
          Restoring the database backups and transaction log backups
      4.  
        About policy configuration for SQL Server in an SAP environment
    4.  
      Configuring NetBackup to support database log-shipping
    5.  
      Backing up SQL Server in an environment with log shipping
    6. About NetBackup for SQL Server with database mirroring
      1.  
        Configuring NetBackup to support database mirroring
      2.  
        Performing simultaneous backups for mirrored partners
      3.  
        Restoring a mirrored database backup image
  15. Appendix B. Register authorized locations
    1.  
      Registering authorized locations used by a NetBackup database script-based policy

About protecting SQL Server availability groups

NetBackup for SQL Server supports backups and restores of SQL Server Always On and read-scale availability groups. For information on supported versions and environments, see the Application/Database Agent Compatibility List.

You can protect an availability group environment in the following ways:

Note the following before you configure the policy:

  • NetBackup can only fully protect the availability group environment if each replica on which backups occur is registered with credentials.

  • NetBackup runs a backup job on each replica in the availability group. On the replicas which are not the backup source, the job skips the backup.

Limitations

NetBackup does not support the following types of backups for availability databases:

  • Snapshot backups of filegroups or files

  • Instant Recovery backups

  • VMware backups

 

SQL Server does not support the following types of backups on a secondary replica:

  • Full backups

    If a full backup takes place on a secondary replica, NetBackup converts the full backup to a copy-only backup.

  • Certain differential backups that are performed with a SQL Server Intelligent policy

    • A differential backup is skipped when an availability group is added as a backup selection.

    • A differential backup fails when an availability database is added as a backup selection.

  • A differential backup that is performed with a legacy (batch-file based) policy

    Backups of this type result in a failed backup.

  • Copy-only transaction log backups

    Backups of this type result in a failed backup.

  • (SQL Server 2022) An issue exists with filegroup backups on a non-readable secondary. They are not supported at this time due to a Microsoft limitation.