We are taking backups of backup files (.bak) and transaction logs (.trn) however, we are not backing up the data files (*.mdf) and log files (*.ldf) because the system team feel that backups of live datafiles (similar to the oracle world) are useless for recovery (unless the dataprotector backup agent and the database are working together to quiesce/flush/freeze the files during the file pull. Hence to save on virtual tape real-estate, we do not back the datafiles up. Rather, we are grabbing only the backup directory and all the log directories.

If we need to do a restore, we can use the full database backup and apply the transaction logs to recover to a specific point in time. My questions are: are we in any danger if let's say the one of the data files or log files is corrupted? Can we use the full database and transaction logs to restore from if this happens? If the database files and log files are in use by the database, can we still use Data Protector to backup these files? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Tuan Dinh
SQL Server DBA
Marquette University
Office: (414) 288-7635
Cell: (414) 313-8535
tuan.[Email address protected]


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