3. Unattached Content Database Data Recovery
IT staff and database admins like to back up
SQL databases—and there is nothing wrong with that! SQL Server provides
options to administrators to run nightly backups, and many good backup
applications include a SQL agent to back up live SQL database data to
backup storage. What is not to like? The problem is that full SQL
Server database backups only provide all-or-nothing restore of data.
Restoring a single piece of data, such as a document, requires standing
up content backup in a new SharePoint web application and site
collection to access the required data.
Rewind the clock a couple of years to the days
of SharePoint 2007. In the event that an administrator wanted to
restore selected data (such as a site, list, or library) from an
offline database, the process went something like the following:
- Restore the SQL database backup from cold storage to a disk location, seen by SQL Server.
- Attach the offline database data file and log file to SQL Server, using a different name from the current live SQL Server, now becoming the backup database.
- Associate the backup database with a fresh web application in SharePoint 2007, or another SharePoint 2007 farm.
- Export the selected content from the backup, using STSADM (the minimum granularity was a subsite).
- Import the exported content to the current live site collection.
- Restore the site, list, or library to the correct place in the live
site collection using SharePoint content tools, such as the Content
Management UI.
The steps above seem like a lot of work to me.
Further complications arose for the administrator in that SharePoint
2007 required installation of any feature customizations to the backup
web application before the administrator could access the backup site
collection. If using a separate farm to host backup content data, the
administrator would have to ensure that the version of the production
farm was equal to or exceeded that of the backup farm for the data
import to work. Yuk!
You no longer need to worry. SharePoint now
allows you to drill into a SQL content database without ever having to
attach it to the farm, as the following steps demonstrate:
- Open Central Administration.
- Click the Backup and Restore heading link.
- Click the Recover Data from an Unattached Content Database link.
- Provide the SQL Server name and database name for the warm
unattached database backup (you still need to host the offline database
in SQL Server somewhere).
- SharePoint displays a page like that in Figure 3.
- In the Operation to Perform section, you have three choices:
- a. Browse content in the backup database.
- b. Backup a site collection contained in the database.
- c. Export a site or list from the database.
- Select the Browse content option.
- Click the Next button.
- On the next page (Figure 4),
you may browse a site collection, site, and list and then either back
up the site collection or export the selected site and list.
- Try the site collection backup option and click the Next button.
SharePoint navigates you to a page to provide
the site collection backup details, similar to the page for site
collection backup of an attached content database.
Had you selected the option to export a site or
a list, or gone directly to the site collection backup or export
operation on the main page, you would see the appropriate page for site
collection backup or export.
- Click the Start Backup button.
So far, I have covered the granular backup
methods. Next, I will visit complete farm backup and restore
capabilities for SharePoint 2013. Before leaving granular backup,
navigate back to the Backup and Restore page in Central Administration
and click the Check Granular Backup Job Status link. Figure 5 shows the Job Status page for all granular backups, which provides for easy review of the health of your backup operations.
Figure 5. Granular backup status
