SQL Server Database Corruption - a nightmare for a DBA, what are your chances to survive?
I bet the subjet line is not an easy one to take on for any DBA to think about the survival chances in case of database corrpution which causes without any indication.
As a DBA have you ever wondered you can recover a corrupted database when you have upto date (optimum) backup & restore strategy in place, well I'm not talking about usage of third party tools or use high-end hardware. With simple backup and restore features in SQL Server 2005 for the databases you can recover the data effectively, no doubt that when you have tested your recovery scripts & options it is a piece of cake.
Why we insist to test your recovery options, because to keep the backup and restore intact within your environment, do not assume by performing backup would save your data. No backup is safe unless it is tested (restored) on another server that will provide a standby server approach within your enviornment. Having a practice of such steps will make DBA life easier and not to panic in such situations to keep up the data availability.
For all such education and techniques in a survival scenario Paul Randal, SQL Server MVP has been doing phenominal work to save life of DBA. Visit TechEd: 80 minute video of Corruption Survival Techniques presentation that was presented in Tech-Ed EMEA in Barcelona along with demo scripts to practice at your own pace.
On the lighter side of the topic here are 2 links by SQLServer MVPs about How-to-Corrupt-A-database How to create a corrupt database using BULK INSERT/ UPDATE and BCP ... & Linchi Shea : How to Corrupt a SQL Server 2005 Database.
