Backup Exec 10d for Windows - Microsoft SQL Server Agent with CAL

Software Information

Symantec Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft SQL Server ensures business-critical databases and e-business data are protected in the event of application or hardware-based corruption or loss. This agent provides SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 users’ granular protection on 32 and 64-bit systems down to the individual database or file group. Execute differential backups as well as Transaction Log backups with automatic truncation. Restore with one-pass recovery of the last full and any subsequent backup as a single restore job or perform “rollback restores,” enabling a database to be recovered to a specific moment in time, rather than a specific restore point based on the last backup job. Microsoft Virtual Device Interface (VDI) support gives users the most dependable and fastest method available for complete SQL Server protection. The agent supports Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) snapshot technology to create point-in-time, recovery consistent snapshots of SQL Server 2000 on Windows Server 2003. Consistency check can be performed before backup when using Microsoft VSS snapshot provider.

• Added cluster support with Symantec Cluster Server
• New restore option called “Force Restore” to improve restore performance by immediately disconnecting any active users, eliminating administrative intervention previously required to disconnect users when performing a restore.
• Support of VSS Snapshot backups, which offer quicker restores

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

• Data recovery to named Transaction Log Marks within the transaction log, so administrators can restore data up to the point at which the data had last been committed to the database.
• Modeling of SQL database backups that can be targeted to fit the individual needs of the business by performing full or differential backups and restores of the file group.
• Expanded data protection parameters that include multiple and named SQL Server 2000 database instances running on the SQL Server database.
• Improved performance of database consistency checks (DBCC) with the ability to perform a physical-only DBCC on SQL 2000 databases, which greatly enhances backup speeds without sacrificing backup accuracy.

• Transparent integration online or with “hot” SQL Server backups within regularly scheduled network protection routines.
• Individual table space or individual file-group backup and restore.
• Support for Microsoft SQL Server rollback restores to a specific point in time, rather than a specific backup job.
• Flexible backup launch options for SQL Server, so backup jobs can be launched immediately or on a schedule.

• Use of native SQL Server APIs for both backups and restores, assuring reliable and consistent SQL Server protection.
• Integration with the Symantec Backup Exec Intelligent Disaster Recovery™ Option for a rapid, bare-metal system disaster recovery to the last full, incremental, or differential backup, complete with identical configuration of the operating system, user profiles, updates, and other applications.

WHY DO YOU NEED THE BACKUP EXEC AGENT FOR MICROSOFT SQL SERVER?

Symantec Backup Exec together with the Agent for Microsoft SQL Server easily meets the criteria for fast, flexible, and reliable SQL Server data protection. In fact, Backup Exec has supported Microsoft SQL since its introduction to Windows NT in 1995 (and has supported Windows NT and Windows 2000 since their introduction), giving Symantec significant experience in this market.

In addition to offering two products (Backup Exec and NetBackup) that support the basic level of availability for SQL Server, Symantec also offers several products that support your SQL deployment all the way through the highest levels of availability.

• With Backup Exec, you can easily protect Windows files, the Windows system state, SQL Server files, and SQL databases (including the system databases) within a single schedulable job; or you can break these tasks up into multiple jobs, as appropriate for your environment, performance needs, schedule, or data-retention periods. If disaster occurs to your SQL Server, the Backup Exec Intelligent Disaster Recovery (IDR) option can help you quickly bring Windows back online in preparation of recovering SQL Server.
  Backup Exec 10.0 clearly displays all SQL Server data and lets you easily integrate database backups into your backup scheme.
• In addition to fully supporting the backup and restore of SQL Server’s system databases in an easy-to-use interface, Backup Exec 10.0 includes two features that further automate the protection of system databases.
• Automated master database restore. This industry first feature reduces the complexity of a master database restore by automating the manual steps you normally would have to do. It even supports SQL Server in a clustered configuration.
• SQL Server intelligent disaster recovery integration. Normally, recovering SQL Server after a complete disaster recovery requires two steps: First, recover SQL Server’s system databases and then recover the user databases. With Backup Exec, this is reduced to one step: Recover the user databases. Backup Exec backs up the system databases during file backups as offline files (system databases are usually small) and the Intelligent Disaster Recovery Option restores them — so you can skip a step in the disaster-recovery process and save valuable time.
• Backup Exec fully supports up to a 32-node cluster of SQL on Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 (eight is currently the maximum number of nodes that MSCS offers). Backup Exec can automatically restart database backups that were interrupted because of a failover.
• In addition to fully supporting all of the database methods above, Backup Exec offers the following advantages:
  • Backup Exec lets an administrator easily view and select this data, along with any other data types into one schedulable backup job. This gives you the flexibility of managing jobs per server (for example, Windows, SQL, and Exchange in one backup) or by application (for example, just SQL backups across servers).
  • Backup Exec includes ease-of-use features that simplify SQL restores. If you are selecting a full, differential, and several transaction-log backups for restoration, Backup Exec will automatically apply the restores in the correct sequence and bring the database online.
  • Backup Exec offers industry unique “guide me” wizards to help the user determine which SQL backup method is best.
  Backup Exec offers several restore options to suit your needs. These include the ability to redirect restores to a different SQL instance, SQL Server, or database name; recover to specific log group label and/or date stamp; recover to various database ready states (warm standby, no recover, or full recovery); or use the new force-restore feature introduced in this release.
• Symantec Advantage: For those customers that need this advanced backup feature, the Symantec Backup Exec Advanced Disk-Based Backup Option (ADBO) leverages Storage Foundation for Windows FlashSnap and hardware snapshot providers. These products let customers automatically use volume-mirroring technology to logically copy SQL databases to another server to allow backups. The result is a very-low-impact database backup, with almost instant recovery and easier disaster recovery.

  Backup Exec Advantage: Backup Exec has integrated support for the new ShadowCopy service writers in Windows Server 2003. Backing up or restoring SQL Server 2000 databases via ShadowCopy is as easy as clicking on the desired database. The Backup Exec SQL agent extends SQL database protection to include NAS configurations, full individual file-group backup, differential database and file-group backup, transaction-log backup, untruncated transaction-log backup, advanced transaction-log backup options (such as no-recover and standby), and automatic consistency check before and after backup.

  The Backup Exec SQL agent also extends SQL recovery to include individual file-group restore, automatic master database restore, automatic alternate drive restore, automatic point-in-time log restore including named transactions, read-only recovery support, automatic restore of deleted databases, automatic consistency check after restore, and redirected application restore (which includes moving data files to specified volumes).

  All these Backup Exec features are available for both SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 7.0 configurations using legacy backup APIs.

• A comprehensive data-protection scheme is required (full, differential, transaction log, and file-group backup,) OR
• SQL Server is configured in a cluster, OR
• SQL Server is configured using NAS, OR
• The database is large, OR
• The database is highly active (in terms of queries and transactions)

• Full backups only are required, AND
• The database is configured using the simple recovery model, AND
• The database is not configured in a cluster, AND
• The database is not configured using NAS, AND
• The database is small and not highly active (in terms of queries and transactions)

Note: Intermixing of Backup Exec SQL agent differential, transaction-log, and file-group backup with SQL writer backups in a SQL Server 2000 protection scheme on Windows Server 2003 is neither recommended nor supported.