Online SQL Server Backup

Most companies are aware that some of their most important assets are their databases. Some years ago, databases were only used in high-tech environments, but nowadays we see database driven software everywhere.

Databases are somehow difficult to backup as they are constantly changing, therefore backups need to be updated constantly, but files are locked or open most of the time, so regular backup programs would require you to stop the database server, get the backup and then start the database server. However there are services that just can’t be stopped whenever a new backup will be created.

There are companies that won’t mind losing everything in their servers but their databases, as maybe they have disc copies of all the software needed to get a new server up and running but the databases can’t be easily replaced o recreated.

However Microsoft’s SQL server has a built in backup and restore capabilities, that allow you to create a backup from within SQL server while it’s running and to save that backup as a dump file (.dmp). A backup can later be restored within the same SQL server command line.

Online SQL Server Backup works by automating the process of creating the SQL dump file in the local server, uploading it to an offsite server, and removing the original backup so that it doesn’t use any space in the local server. In order to do so, the programs supplied by the Online Backup providers use SQL Server’s API to interact with it and send the right commands to create or restore a backup.

In order to protect the privacy and integrity of the upload, most providers will use an encrypted socket to transfer the backup files to the server and they will remain encrypted while stored in the remote server. To increase the speed of the backup process, some providers will compress the backup file prior to uploading it.

SQL dump files or backup files can later be downloaded from the server and “restored” or “loaded back” into SQL server easily and without any risks of database corruption or data loss.

One of the main problems faced by online SQL server programs is that due to the nature and format of SQL server’s backup files, it’s nearly impossible to use the incremental or differential backup approaches, as there has to be a full file for every backup.