White Papers

BP1014 Enhancing SQL Server Protection using Dell EqualLogic Snapshot Smart Copies

Eliminate Backup Window using off-host backups A good snapshot implementation

should provide near instantaneous and non-disruptive consistent copy of the database. If

the snapshots are transportable or can be attached to a host different from the

production host, backup applications running on a proxy backup server can use them as a

backup source. This allows you to off-load backup processing impact from the product

host to a backup proxy host. Using this method you can schedule backups to occur at

any time, without concern for production system impact.

In the following sections, we present results of a set of tests conducted by Dell Labs to do the

following:

 Measure the impact of backups and SQL Server® native snapshots on SQL performance

 Test efficiency of SQL native snapshots and snapshots provided by EqualLogic SAN to keep

point in time copies of the database

 Show how using EqualLogic snapshots in conjunction with existing SQL Server® backup

strategies can improve overall data protection.