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Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1. 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 INTRODUCING ACRONIS RECOVERY FOR MS SQL SERVER ....................... 6 WHAT IS ACRONIS RECOVERY FOR MS SQL SERVER ............................................................................ 6 WHY ACRONIS RECOVERY FOR MS SQL SERVER....................................................................
5.2.2 Specifying a Task Execution Account .............................................................................................. 33 5.2.3 Selecting Objects to Back Up .......................................................................................................... 34 5.2.4 Specifying Credentials..................................................................................................................... 37 5.2.5 Selecting a Backup Archive Location ....................................
11.2 11.3 11.4 DELETING A TASK ................................................................................................................................ 80 STARTING A TASK ................................................................................................................................ 80 VIEWING A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN ............................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER 12. NOTIFICATIONS .........................................
Chapter 1. Introducing Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server This chapter provides general information about Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server, its features and advantages. You will learn about supported databases, operating systems and platforms. 1.1 What is Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server offers a fast and reliable disaster recovery solution to protect your Microsoft SQL Server database.
1.2 Why Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Comprehensive recovery requires more than just data backup. Your Microsoft SQL Server database contains tables, logs, and other components that structure the data. Using Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server, a cohesive and intuitive backup solution, is critical to ensure a secure live database backup that can be quickly recovered. Recovery is now made easy with automated system restore to point-of-failure. No need to walk through menus to get your system back online.
Encryption Protect backups with strong industry-standard encryption technology. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is available with three key lengths – 128, 192 and 256 bits to balance performance and protection as desired. Compression Create backups up to 10 times smaller than the original uncompressed format. Three compression levels let you optimize for faster performance, smaller size, or a balance of both.
• Tapes, Autoloaders, Tape Libraries Backup Modes: • Full • Differential • Transaction Logs Backup Features: • Tune backup strategy with Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant • Backup several databases at once • Backup files/filegroups • Rolling snapshots on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise • Protect backups with industry-standard encryption • Backup system databases • Verify backup • Keep many versions of archives • Online backup Restore Features • Recovery from backup
1.5 Supported Microsoft SQL Server versions • Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (SP4+) • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (SP3a+, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions) • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine Release A • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions) • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Please note that Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server is not a cluster-aware product. 1.
• you will find it in a CD box if you buy a licensed Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server CD • you can receive it after registering on the Acronis web site in case you download the product (also during installation of the product) Trial Serial Numbers Acronis allows you to have a trial serial number to be able to use Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server for 14 days without buying the product.
Chapter 2. Understanding Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server This chapter provides common information about working with Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server. 2.1 Components Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server includes the following components: • Management Tools including Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Management Console; • Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent; • SDK (shipped separately). 2.1.
Figure 1. Integration between Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server and Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agents Figure 2. Integration between Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server SDK and Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agents 13 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 3. Installation of Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server From this chapter you will learn how to install Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server components both locally and remotely. 3.1 Minimum System Requirements Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server requires the following hardware: • Pentium processor or higher • 512 MB RAM • Mouse (recommended) 3.2 Security Policy 3.2.1 Credentials Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server obtains access to networked computers using two types of credentials.
• server (Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agents) UDP port: 9876 • server (Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agents) TCP port: 9876, if busy choose a port at random • client (Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server) UDP port: 9877, if busy choose a port at random You might have to set the appropriate firewall access options.
the Management Console to any networked computer (for information about the remote installation see Installing Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent Remotely (p. 16)) It is strongly recommended to manually stop CDP process before starting the installation of the product to be able to update all required components. Otherwise you may need to reboot the server after installation completion. In addition, Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server supports the Microsoft Installer utility (msiexec.
Figure 5. Program selection window 3. Enter a serial number for the selected product. For information about obtaining a serial number, see License Policy (p. 6). The Next button will not be active until you enter a serial number. Figure 6. Entering serial number 4. Select the computer in the Computer field: enter a computer name manually or click Browse… and select the required computer from the tree. Enter a User name and password into the corresponding fields to access the selected computer.
Figure 7. Computer selection window 5. The summary page displays all operations, which will be performed. Click Proceed to install Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent on the remote computer. Figure 8. Summary page By connecting to a remote computer with Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent installed, you can set up backup and recovery tasks, browse logs, import existing maintenance plans for Microsoft SQL Server databases. Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
3.3.3 Extracting Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Components For installing Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server from the command line, you will need to extract the *.msi file prior to starting the installation process. Here are the steps for extracting the file: • run the Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server setup file; • in the Install Menu, right-click on the component name and select Extract; • select a location for the setup file and click Save. Figure 9. Install menu 3.3.
Chapter 4. Getting started with Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server This chapter will help you to start working with Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server, and will guide you through connecting to a remote server, and remote installation of Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent. 4.
Figure 10. Main area If you select a server in the Computers pane, on which Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent is not installed, Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server workspace will contain two operation icons in the Pick a Tool group: Add Servers – add a database server to the group Install Acronis Agents – install Acronis Agents on remote computers Figure 11.
Backup – create a database backup archive Restore – restore databases from a previously created archive Backup Location Clean-up - clean database backup locations Disaster Recovery Plan – generate step-by-step instructions on how to restore your databases in case of any kind of failure The Pick a Tool group contains the following items: Manage Tasks – manage tasks scheduled on a computer Logs – open the Log Viewer window Import Maintenance Plan – set backup options by importing a preexisting backup strategy
The Operations menu contains two available operations: • Backup - create a database backup archive • Restore - restore databases from a previously created archive Backup Location Clean-up - clean database backup locations Disaster Recovery Plan – generate step-by-step instructions on how to restore your databases in case of any kind of failure The Tools menu contains three available operations: Manage Tasks – manage tasks scheduled on a computer Logs – open the Log Viewer window Import Maintenance Plan
Figure 13. The Computers pane 4.4 Management Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Management Console allows installation Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server components on remote computers. To perform any of these operations you will need administrator rights on the target machine. To connect to the server click Connect to a Remote Server in the Pick a Task pane (see Connecting to a Remote Database Server (p. 26)).
Figure 14. Discovering servers 4.6 Adding Servers If, for any reason, a server cannot be found with the Discover Computers tool, you can add it to the tree manually. You can apply any discovery operation later as required. The operation will add newly connected servers to the list in the Computers pane. At the same time, discovery will update the current status of all computers already included in the list.
Figure 15. Adding servers 2. Click OK to add the server to the tree. 4.7 Connecting to a Remote Database Server In order to perform any operation on a remote database server, you must first connect to it. Once connected, you can manage tasks: set up backup/restore options on remote database servers and schedule backup, restore and backup location clean-up tasks. To establish a remote connection, select a server in the Computers pane and click Connect to a Remote Computer in the right pane.
Figure 16. Connecting to a Remote Database Server 4.8 Remote Installation of Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent The remote installation of Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent is described in detail in Installing Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Agent Remotely (p. 16). 27 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 5. Creating Backup Archives This chapter provides general information about backup methods, describes how to backup Microsoft SQL Server databases, and which options can be set using Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server. 5.1 General Information Backup is crucial to maintaining timely and consistent record of your databases for recovery in case of failure. Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server offers an easy and flexible process for creating of backup archives. 5.1.
state of the original database when the backup finished, minus any uncommitted transactions. For a small database that can be backed up quickly, it is convenient to use only full database backups. However, as the database becomes larger, full backups take more time to finish and require more storage space. Therefore, for a large database, you might want to supplement full database backups with differential backups.
- Transaction Logs backup every twenty minutes Database size is large and activity is high, recovery model is Simple: • - Full backup once a week - Differential backup twice a day For advice on creating the best strategy you can also rely upon Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant while working with the Create Backup wizard. See Using Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant (p. 39) for detailed information.
5.1.6 Disaster Recovery Plan With Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server you can create a Disaster Recovery Plan. This plan provides all the necessary information about the server and databases in the form of stepby-step instructions restoring the entire database in case of failure, disaster or data corruption. With the Disaster Recovery Plan any person, even non-DBAs, will be able to restore the system in the shortest possible time. This plan helps to reduce issues during the recovery of databases.
Backup and restore on a tape drive proceed in the same way as with other devices with the following exceptions. 1. You do not have to provide filenames for backups. 2. As soon as the tape is full and the Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Management Console is connected to the computer, a dialog window with a request to insert a new cartridge will appear. 3. If the tape already contains data, but is not full, new contents will be appended.
Figure 17. Defining a backup strategy If you are not sure which backup strategy to choose, use Schedule a backup task with Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant (selected by default). See Using Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant (p. 39) for details. If you know which backup method to use for your data, select the Schedule a backup task manually option. In this case you will have to define backup methods and schedule parameters for backup tasks.
Figure 18. Specifying a task execution account 5.2.3 Selecting Objects to Back Up In the left pane of the window select a server with Microsoft SQL Server installed and specify Microsoft SQL Server instances or specific databases to back up. In case an instance is selected, all associated databases will also be selected. Information on the selected item is displayed in the right pane of the window: server name, installed operating system and the number of Microsoft SQL Server instances.
Figure 19. Selecting objects to back up You can also use the Change link to change the credentials for connecting to the Microsoft SQL Server (see Specifying Credentials (p. 37) for details). Selecting Databases to Back Up Select the specific database you want to back up. The right pane will display database name, size, recovery model and status.
• Full backup is created - Rolling Snapshots will be created immediately after creation of the full backup • Differential backup is created - Rolling Snapshots will be created immediately after creation of the differential backup • Transaction log backup is created - Rolling Snapshots will be created immediately after the creation of the transaction log Please be aware that it is not possible to create Rolling Snapshots of the master and model system databases.
• model – used as the template for all databases created on the Microsoft SQL Server instance • msdb – used by Microsoft SQL Server Agent for scheduling notifications and tasks, recording operations System databases can be restored from a backup created within the Microsoft SQL Server version, which the server instance is currently running. After selecting the appropriate object for back up, click Next to continue. 5.2.
We recommend you to store the archives of each task in a separate location to avoid confusion during recovery. Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server supports the following places and media for backup destinations: • Acronis Backup Server (shipped with Acronis True Image Echo™ Enterprise Server, when installed on a networked computer it automatically manages backup archives and retention policies for the specified location and ensures optimal usage of storage space.
Figure 22. Selecting a backup archive location Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server allows you to clean storage places to avoid storing out of date archives. See Backup Location Clean-up (p. 60) for details. 5.2.6 Using Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant will help you with define backup strategy and creation parameters.
Figure 23. Performance window Click Next to continue. Acceptable Data Loss At this step specify a period of time when data changes significantly. This will help Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant define the schedule for backup creation – how often to run the backup operation and which backup method to choose.
Click Next to continue. Server Load During a Week Specify the workload distribution on the database server during a week. The Assistant will use this information to define a backup schedule according to your company’s server’s load. The load information is used to determine when and what type of backups to create to avoid data loss (backup creation frequency), as well as when to execute the operation.
Figure 26. Server Load During a Day window Initial Task Starting Specify a time for applying the selected scheme: • Now – select this option to execute the scheduled task immediately after you finish the wizard • On the specified date and time – the selected scheme will be applied at the specified date.
Figure 27. Initial Task Starting window Table of Backup Strategies The table below describes different backup strategies according to your requirements for storage space and speed. The final strategy created by Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant will be displayed in a Schedule page (see Setting Backup Scheduling Parameters (p. 44) for details).
5.2.7 Setting Backup Scheduling Parameters If you used Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant, Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server will offer the appropriate schedule for the choices you made. Click Edit to change existing schedule settings. If you decided to define the backup strategy manually, you have to set a schedule for each backup method. See Scheduling Tasks (p. 75) for detailed information.
Figure 30. Backup Options window 5.2.9 Specifying a Task Name and Providing Comments On the Task Name and Archive Comments wizard page, you can provide a name and comments for the backup task. Enter a task name in the Task Name field to identify and organize tasks by operation (edit, delete, etc.). You may provide comments for the archives you create. The backup file size and creation date are automatically appended to the description, so you do not need to enter this information. Figure 31.
5.2.10 Backup Summary The final stage of the backup is the summary window, which displays the list of operations to be performed. Click Finish to save the created schedule or start the backup creation task immediately. You will be redirected to the Task List automatically, where you can view and edit created tasks. Figure 32. Backup Summary 5.3 Setting Default Backup Options Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server lets you set the backup options you want to use as default for future tasks.
Figure 33. Setting default backup options 5.3.1 Pre/Post Commands You can specify commands (or even batch files) that will be automatically executed before and after the backup procedure. For example, you may want to start/stop certain Windows processes, or check your data before starting the backup operation. You can use commands set by default, as well as specify your own commands.
Figure 34. Pre/Post commands 5.3.2 Compression Level Select the compression level for the backup. With higher compression ratios the archive file size will be smaller but the backup process may take longer.
Figure 35. Compression level 5.3.
Figure 36. Backup priority 5.3.4 Backup Protection Password The preset is No Password. You can password protect your archives so that they will be inaccessible to others. Enter a password in the text field and confirm it. The password is case sensitive. Please keep in mind that in the Restore Data wizard, Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server will ask for a password after you select a folder within the archive location.
Figure 37. Backup protection 5.3.5 Backup Type Substitution A full backup of the database is required before creating differential or transaction log backups. If for some reason a full backup does not exist, you will need to create a full backup independently of the backup strategy you have configured.
Figure 38. Backup type substitution Note, if you use the Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Assistant to define the backup strategy, the Create differential backup if transaction log backup creation is impossible. Create a full backup if a differential backup creation fails option is selected by default. 5.3.6 Bandwidth Throttling You can limit the bandwidth used by the backup process so that network resources will be available for other processes.
5.3.7 Additional Settings Validate backup archive once it has been created When enabled, the program will verify the integrity of the archive immediately after it’s created. To validate archive data integrity you must have all of the backups in the series (full, differential and transaction log backups) available in the same location. If any of the successive backups are missing validation will not be possible. Figure 40. Additional settings 53 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 6. Disaster Recovery Plan It is extremely important for all organizations and users to have detailed instructions describing the process for recovering data quickly and efficiently in case of disaster – a Disaster Recovery Plan. This plan should contain all of the required information to guide someone through the recovery process.
Figure 42. Selecting databases 3. Choose whether you want to receive the Disaster Recovery Plan by e-mail or to view it in HTML format 4. If in the previous step you selected to receive the Disaster Recovery Plan by email, you will need to specify the e-mail parameters Specify the e-mail account that will be used for sending the Disaster Recovery Plan. Provide the e-mail address to which the plan will be sent and the outgoing SMTP server name.
Figure 43. Disaster recovery plan options 2. Select the databases for which you want to obtain the Disaster Recovery Plan. 3. Specify the e-mail account that will be used for sending the Disaster Recovery Plan. Provide the e-mail address to which the plan will be sent and the outgoing SMTP server name. You can specify several e-mail addresses separating them with commas. A Username and a password may also be needed if the SMTP server requires authentication.
Click Finish to schedule receipt of the Disaster Recovery Plan after each update. 6.3 Summary Thus, in case of disaster, you only need to take the most recent version of the Disaster Recovery Plan and follow the instructions to restore your databases. 57 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 7. Import a Maintenance Plan With Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server, you are able to import an existing Microsoft SQL Server Maintenance Plan for a database and convert it into an Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server task. Later on, you can work with the imported task, as with the regular Acronis backup task i.e.: launch the task, edit the tasks’ options and schedule the task execution parameters. Launch the Import Maintenance Plan wizard by clicking on the icon in the main area. 7.
7.2 Selecting a Maintenance Plan Select the database maintenance plan you want to import from the tree in the left pane. Information about the selected maintenance plan will be displayed in the right pane. Select a job from the tree. The associated schedule and objects will be shown on the right. To disable a Microsoft SQL Server, task after importing the maintenance plan, select the Disable SQL task after import checkbox. The Microsoft SQL Server maintenance plan will be deleted after importing.
Chapter 8. Backup Location Cleanup Sooner or later the backups you create will fill up the assigned storage space. Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server allows you to clean up backup locations by specifying how long to store the archive and/or the maximum number of full backups to store. By default, these options are disabled. Launch the Backup Location Clean-up wizard by clicking on the icon in the main program window. 8.
Figure 46. Selecting a backup location 8.3 Providing a Password If there are any password-protected backup archives in the location you have selected (see Selecting the Backup Archive Location (p. 60)), you will need to enter the password to clean up the archive location. Figure 47. Providing a password Click Next to continue. 61 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
8.4 Specifying Cleaning Options Specify the maximum lifetime of an archive and the maximum number of full backups to store. Select the Consider maximum archive’s life check box and type or select a number of days to store archives in the Days box. Select the Consider maximum full backup check box and type or select the maximum number of full backup archives to store. Figure 48. Clean-up Options window 8.5 Schedule Cleaning Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server allows you to schedule backup location clean-up.
Figure 49. Schedule Cleaning window 8.6 Backup Location Clean-up Summary The final stage of the backup location clean-up is the summary window, where the list of operations which will be performed is displayed. Click Finish to save the created schedule or start the backup location clean-up task immediately. Figure 50. Clean-up summary 63 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 9. Restoring the Backup Data Launch the Restore Data wizard by clicking on the restore operation icon in the main workspace. 9.1 Restore 9.1.1 Restoration Time Selection In the first step of the Restore Data wizard you will select when to run the restoration process. There are two choices: • Now – select this option to execute the restore operation immediately after you finish the wizard • On schedule – select this option to schedule the operation Figure 51.
Thus, the task will run as if it was started by the specified user. Enter the Username and password then click Next. The domain name must be specified if the user is a member of a domain (DOMAIN\Username). 9.1.3 Selecting a Database Backup Location Select the appropriate backup location in the tree or specify the path to it manually in the Path field below the tree.
9.1.5 Providing a Password If there are any password-protected backup archives in the location you have selected (see Selecting a Database Backup Location (p. 65)), you will need to enter the password to restore your data from archives. Click Next to continue. 9.1.6 Restore Point Selection Specify to which state you want to restore your data.
Server will restore databases from Full, Differential and Transaction Logs backups (if any), but will not apply Active Log. Figure 54. Backup times list After selecting the appropriate option click Next to continue. 9.1.7 Content Selection Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server allows restoring instances, single databases and filegroups. Select a database server from the tree in the left pane. Restoring Instances Choose an instance to restore. Information about this instance will be displayed on the right.
Figure 55. Contents selection Restoring Databases Choose the database to restore. You can set all the recovery parameters as described above in the Restoring instances section. Additionally, you may customize the location, where database files will be restored, and setting the database state after restoring. Note, you can restore a database from rolling snapshots. Remove the database snapshots using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio then begin the restore operation.
Figure 56. Contents selection Click OK to continue. Restoring System Databases System databases can only be restored from a backup created in the Microsoft SQL Server version that the server instance is currently running. The master database must be accessible to run a Microsoft SQL Server instance and to restore databases. If the master database is not accessible, you have to restore the database from a full backup and rebuild it.
Figure 57. Contents selection If the filegroup restore completes with an error message about the database checksum validation failure (824), the database is not consistent after restoring. You should restore the entire database. After defining all the required parameters click Next to continue. 9.1.8 Restore Options Select the options for the restoration process (Pre/Post commands, restoration process priority etc.). You can Use default options (See Setting Default Restore Options (p.
9.1.9 Selecting Start Parameters You can run a restore task manually or specify the frequency (Daily, Weekly or Monthly). See Scheduling Tasks (p. 75) for detailed information. 9.1.10 Restore Summary In the final step, the restoration summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click Back to make changes in the created task. If you click Cancel, no databases will be restored. Figure 59. Restore summary Click Finish to save the schedule or start the restore task immediately. 9.
Figure 60. Setting default restore options 9.2.1 Pre/Post Commands You can specify commands or batch files to be automatically executed before and after the restore procedure. Click Edit to open the Edit Command window and input the command, its arguments and the working directory, or browse folders to find a batch file. Interactive commands (commands that require user input) are not supported. Figure 61. Pre/Post Commands window 9.2.
• Normal - set by default. The restore process will run with normal priority • High - the restore process will run faster, but it may influence other processes running on your computer Changing the restore process priority may have an adverse effect on the performance of other programs running simultaneously. The priority of any process running in the system determines the amount of CPU usage and system resources allocated to that process. Figure 62. Restoration Priority window 9.2.
Figure 63. Additional settings Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 10. Scheduling Tasks 10.1 What is a task? A task is a job you execute for a database that includes the type of operation (backup, restore, etc.), parameters of the operation (what to backup, what to restore, etc.) and a schedule (optional). Each time you want to perform an operation with specific parameters, you should create a task. Once the task is created, you can execute it manually at any time or run it on a scheduled basis (if provided).
days Start time Time for starting the task. The current time is set by default Repeat Task execution frequency: Once for a single execution and Every (…) for periodic executions throughout the day (in minutes or hours) End time Time when the schedule will be disabled Start date Select this check box to specify the date to enable this schedule End date Select this check box to specify the date when this schedule will be disabled Figure 65.
Figure 66. Setting weekly schedule Monthly - the task will be executed monthly at the specified time and day. You can set the following parameters: Parameter Description Months Select months for the task execution from the drop-down list. Then choose one of the following parameters: Days - choose this parameter to specify days of the selected months for task execution. Choose the dates from the drop-down list.
Figure 67. Setting monthly schedule One time - the task will be executed once at the specified time and day. You can set the Start time parameter: specify the date and time to start the operation. Current time is set by default. Figure 68. Setting one time task execution All the settings you made are displayed in the Result field at the bottom of the window. To save your settings, click OK. To quit task scheduling without saving, click Cancel.
Chapter 11. Managing Tasks To manage operations, click Manage Tasks in the Pick a Tool group or select the Tools > Manage tasks menu item. All the scheduled tasks appear in the Scheduled Tasks pane in the Manage Computer Tasks window of the Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server Management Console. Information about the task name, credentials, the type of backup, its status (completed, scheduled), the task’s schedule and the date and time when it was run last is displayed.
11.2 Deleting a Task To delete an existing task, select it in the Tasks window and click Delete Task on the left. Follow the wizard’s instructions on the screen. 11.3 Starting a Task To begin executing an existing task immediately, select it in the Tasks window and click Start Task Now on the left. 11.4 Viewing a Disaster Recovery Plan Click the View Disaster Recovery Plan link in the tasks pane. The plan is provided in HTML format. See details in Disaster Recovery Plan (p. 54). Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 12. Notifications Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server can notify you when a task is complete using an SNMP service or via e-mail. By default all notifications are disabled. 12.1 E-mail Notifications Specify the default e-mail account that will be used for notifications regarding the backup operation process. Provide the e-mail address to which notifications will be sent and the outgoing SMTP server name. A Username and a password may also be needed if the SMTP server requires authentication.
12.2 SNMP You can choose whether to send event log messages issued by Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server to computers running SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) management applications. To specify SNMP settings, check the Send Notification with SNMP parameter to enable SNMP notification. In the Community Name field, enter the name of the SNMP community to which both the Host (the computer running the SNMP management application) and the computer running the task belong.
• Errors only - only error messages will be recorded to the Windows Event Log Figure 72. Windows event log option 83 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Chapter 13. Viewing Logs Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server working logs provide information about scheduled task results, including failure reasons, if any. To view logs, click the Logs item in the Pick a Tool group. The log browsing window contains two panels: the left panel features the log list, and the right panel displays the selected log’s contents. You can set up list parameters to only display messages of a particular type, display particular columns, or select a sorting order.
Appendix A. Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server: Best Practices This section provides instructions for best practices when using Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server. A.1 Protect your server from hardware failure, user errors and viruses Scenario The company is running several internet and intranet applications on several Windows 2000 servers using Microsoft SQL Server as the back end (using different instances). Since all transactions are stored in the database, any data loss is not acceptable.
a. Select the whole Microsoft SQL Server instance (or all available instances) as a backup source b. Select a backup destination c. Select Full, Differential and Transaction logs backups type d. Schedule full backups for every month, differential backups for every week and transaction log backup for every day e. Use default settings for backup f. Add the necessary comments for the task g.
b. Select the Restore to point in time option and specify the date and time manually, or select the backup from the list of backups. c. Select the database to restore from the archive d. Start the restore operation Only one database will be restored to the selected point in time. To recover all data in case of a virus attack For all servers perform the following actions: 1. Recover the server from viruses, reinstall the operating system or replace the server with a new one. 2.
A.3 Migrate to another Microsoft SQL Server version. Scenario The company needs to move a database to another server, where a newer Microsoft SQL Server version is installed. After the migration, the server must have a different name, and the old server must remain operational (to provide fast database rollback in case a contingency occurs). Acronis solution 1. Install a new Microsoft SQL Server instance. 2. Set the old database to StandBy mode. 3.
A.6 Using the Disaster Recovery Plan to restore databases Scenario The business owner wants to be sure that the databases can be restored at any time, even in case the database administrator is not available for any reason. For that purpose, a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan should be created, which will help a person without DBA knowledge restore damaged databases.
Appendix B. Installing Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server from command line Acronis Recovery for MS SQL Server supports the Microsoft Installer utility (msiexec.exe) with all its commands. Here is the MSI installation command and options: Install Options /i Installs or configures a product.
Reinstall Options /f[p|o|e|d|c|a|u|m|s|v]
i - Logs status messages w - Logs nonfatal warnings e - Logs all error messages a - Logs startup of actions r - Logs action-specific records u - Logs user requests c - Logs initial user interface parameters m - Logs out-of-memory p - Logs terminal properties v - Logs verbose output. To use v, specify /L*v + - Appends to existing file ! - Flushes each line to the log * - Logs all information except for the v option. This is a wildcard LogFile.
Transform List - List of paths separated by semicolons Options for Advertising Using a Transform msiexec /j[u][m] component /t TransformList User Interface Level Options msiexec /q{n|b|r|f|n+|b+|b-} /qn - Displays no user interface /qb - Displays a basic user interface /qr - Displays a reduced user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end of the installation /qf - Displays the full user interface with a modal dialog box displayed at the end /qn+ - Displays no user interface, except for a modal
