Restore AWS RDS Databases On-Premises

AWS, RDS, SQL Server, Uncategorized
Did you know that you can restore AWS RDS databases to a SQL Server 2022 instance running locally using native backup and restore? Well you can. Let's talk about it. Why S3? So, why put backups on S3 at all? Two big reasons. Let's say you're mostly, or strictly, on-premises with your servers. You can use S3 storage on AWS as a way to get your backups offsite. I just recently tried to help someone in the forums who was taking backups, but not testing them in any way, only to find that their local storage had become corrupted and when they needed the backup, it wasn't there. First, of course, they should be testing their backups. However, in addition, they should have moved the backup to an offsite location.…
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PostgreSQL Restore in Azure

Azure, PostgreSQL
I recently wrote an article about PostgreSQL restores (and by extension, backups) over on Simple-Talk. The restore process within PostgreSQL, without 3rd party involvement, can be a little tricky. However, when you are using a Platform as a Service offering, like Azure Database for PostgreSQL, things get quite a bit easier. Let's explore this just a little. Restores Come From Backups I know we all know this, but as I said in the article over on Simple-Talk, discussing backup strategy is a mistake. You should instead be discussing a restore or recovery strategy. How do you intend to get your database back? How much data are you prepared to lose? How long should a restore take? Answering these questions leads you to a Recovery Point Objective (RPO), which tells you…
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SQL Server Backups on AWS RDS

RDS
One of the things I love the most about Platform as a Service offerings is the fact that it makes it so I don't have to do silly things backup SQL Server databases on RDS. However! I'm also a paranoid control freak, aka, a DBA. While I appreciate that AWS has a good backup process and I can test it through recovery of my databases, I still want to do my own backups under some circumstances. Can I backup SQL Server databases on RDS? No and yes. Let's talk about it. Backup SQL Server Databases on RDS I have an RDS SQL Server instance running right now on AWS. I can connect up to it and run the following command: BACKUP DATABASE HamShackRadio; Which results in the following: Msg 262,…
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How Do You Export A Database in Azure Data Studio

SQL Server, SQL Server 2016, SQL Server 2017
I've been writing a bunch about Azure Data Studio. I've also been recording videos on the topic. A comment I received recently asked how to export a database from Azure Data Studio. It made me want to explore the topic of exporting a database as it relates to Azure Data Studio. Export? When we say export, what exactly do we mean. It could be as simple as exporting data to a flat file for consumption in Excel or something. It could be creating a backup. Maybe we mean creating a bacpac file. We could also be looking at creating individual scripts for objects within the database. Finally, what about a full export of the database object definitions? Any or all of these could be what the question was about. So,…
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GDPR, Database Backups, and the Right to be Forgotten

DevOps
I've said it before, but it bears repeating, there is no cause for any kind of panic when it comes to the GDPR. None. There are however, a number of concerns. One of those concerns is, well, concerning. How does the right to be forgotten within the GDPR impact database backups? Let's discuss what we know. The Right To Erasure Each of the articles within the GDPR lays out a topic. Article 17 is pretty darned clear about the topic: Right to erasure ('right to be forgotten') Basically, the individuals, also known as the data subject, also known as natural persons, in short, people, can request that you remove their data from your system. The first sentence lays out the gist of the idea quite well: The data subject shall…
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Snow, Heathrow Airport, Disaster Recovery

DevOps
I recently flew from Boston to the UK through the Heathrow airport. It just happened to be on the day that the UK got about 1.5 inches of snow (sorry, 3.8 centimetres, according to Weather Underground though, just 15mm, not sure about that). I spent a little more than four hours sitting on the runway at Heathrow before I was able to get out of the airplane. It was a frustrating and tiring experience, but it made me think about disaster recovery. Having a Disaster Recovery Plan Most of us have a Disaster Recover (DR) plan. Of course we do. Well, probably. Well, we take backups. Well, we occasionally take some backups. Well, we're pretty sure someone within the organization may have taken a backup once... somewhere... probably. Heathrow Airport…
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Help Me, Help You, Deliver DevOps

DevOps
I believe in DevOps. Actually, that's a pretty horrible way to put it. It's not about belief, like keeping Tinkerbell alive. I have successfully worked within an environment that implemented a DevOps approach to development, deployment and maintenance. I also provide classes and consulting on how to approach DevOps from the Ops perspective as well as writing books on the topic. Because I've seen the DevOps approach work, and work well, despite the fact that my principal job description is in the Ops side of DevOps, I am a very strong and passionate advocate for DevOps. But! DevOps Despite the fact that I absolutely support the concepts of DevOps, moving development & deployment into the production space, and moving operations into better support of the development space, I frequently find…
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The Importance of a Full Backup in SQL Server

Database Lifecycle Management, DevOps, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQL Server 2016
This is the first of 12 posts this year in support of Tim Ford's #iwanttohelp initiative. These will be completely 100 level, introductory blog posts meant to help people that are just getting started as data professionals. I'll try to cover several different topics over the year, but felt I should start with what I think is the most important, backups. It is impossible to overstate the importance of getting a good backup of your SQL Server databases. A backup is the most fundamental of protections for the information on which your business is dependent. Since SQL Server is a service, it manages it's own files. Because of this, you can't just copy the *.mdb file where your data is stored. Instead, you must run a process, usually through the…
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Restoring a Database in Azure

Azure
One of the many small things you don't have to worry about any more when working with Azure SQL Database are those pesky backups... Ha-ha-ha! Yeah, I can't keep a straight face when I type it. Microsoft takes on the role of DBA and creates backups and log backups for you when you're working in the Platform as a Service offering of Azure SQL Database. If that doesn't scare you, I'm not sure what will. However, there's good news. There are still ways for you to create your own backup (through the bacpac, I outlined it here, years ago). More good news is, Microsoft's backups actually work. Testing it out is easy. Let's walk through it once. I'm going to assume you have an Azure account on which you already…
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Time for a Quick Rant

Professional Development, SQL Server
This is an actual quote from what we can only assume is a functional human being: The database is very big so we stopped taking backup's. Eight lords a leaping are you kidding me? Seriously! Seriously? By the Great Gu and all the Valkyries in Valhalla, you stopped taking backups of your PRODUCTION database because it was "very big." And I'll put down Brobdingnagian stacks of cash that "very big" in this case is probably 200-500gb or at worst 1-2tb. People, assuming you have enough brain stem intact to regulate breathing, you must know, you must by all the sparkly vampires in Twighlight KNOW that you need to have backups. Right? I mean, nothing ever goes wrong on this shiny marble we call Dirt, does it? No one would EVER…
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