2010 SQL backups or snapshots?

[kcranmer]

Is it better to have 2010 to do my SQL backups or do the backups with SQL and take a snapshot of the db's with 2010?

[Dev_T]

Hello,

http://support.veritas.com/docs/340862
Best practices for Backup Exec 2010 Agent for Microsoft SQL Server

Hope this helps....

[kcranmer]

Well that explains the best practice for using the SQL agent. My question is or let me actually rephrase it. Is it ok to do backups in SQL and back those DB backups using snapshots vs. do the backups using the SQL agent and not doing any backups using the SQL software? Thanks.

[Dev_T]

Ohh....

1  : I will recomend you to backup the SQL using the SQL Agent for Backup Exec as you will be able to restore the database in a single job and also perform a redirected restore of SQL databases

2  : Backing up SQL databases using SQL DB snapshots and again backing up those snapshots using Backup Exec will get you in trouble while performing restores....

hope this helps....

[kcranmer]

OK, thanks. A follow up question. Does that mean you do not do any backups in SQL itself, only relying on backup Exec or do you perform both?  I have been having trouble getting the Sql agent to work correctly and being a one man show, it is difficult putting alot of time into it.

[pkh]

When you backup a SQL database with the BE SQL agent, BE invoke the SQL services to do the backup.  It is equivalent to doing a backup within SQL.  This is why you can do log restores with a BE SQL backup.

In short, you only need the BE backup.

Did you install the SQL Agent licence correctly and push out the remote agent?  There is not much problem getting the SQL agent to work.

[Dev_T]

Backup Exec does not backup anything by itself, it will call the application APIs through the remote agent and sends the data to backup exec.

so Eventually the SQL internal backup tool is called by backup exec remote agent ....

hope this helps....