[dba-SQLServer] File extensions

Andy Lacey andy at minstersystems.co.uk
Tue Sep 14 16:15:34 CDT 2004


Thanks for this Arthur.

-- Andy Lacey
http://www.minstersystems.co.uk 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com 
> [mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf 
> Of Arthur Fuller
> Sent: 14 September 2004 21:36
> To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
> Subject: RE: [dba-SQLServer] File extensions
> 
> 
> It's dead simple to take the files home, assuming that you 
> have a device of suitable size.
> 
> 1. Perform a backup using Enterprise Manager. 
> 2. Zip (or far better, RAR (c.f. WinRAR -- google it) the 
> backup file. 3. Copy said file to your medium (CD, DVD, 
> whatever). For BIG files I use my ftp site, so as to sidestep 
> the limitations of CD, DVD, email attachment, etc. 4. Copy it 
> to a suitable directory on your home machine. Unzip/unRAR it. 
> Simplest location is x:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL 
> Server\MSSQL\Backup (the default location to look for 
> backups). 5. Run EM at home and select any database (this is 
> first time; once the database exists at home select it). 
> Select Tools/Restore Database. Change the name to the 
> appropriate name. Select From Device in the opton buttons. 
> Navigate to the backup file. Click the Options tab and if 
> necessary edit the filenames (you might have to change 
> drive/dir depending on similarity/difference between your 
> office box and your home box; if so just click in the 
> filename and edit to suit). Also on the Options tab, click 
> the Force Restore checkbox. 6. Click OK.
> 
> First time, this should create the database, using the named 
> files and their specified locations, and restore it from the 
> backup. Subsequent times, the database will exist already, so 
> you just select it in step 5 and step through the prompts. 
> This might seem a little complex upon first read, but I 
> assure you that it's dead simple. In the last site I worked 
> at, I did this every day before leaving work, and if I did 
> anything at home, then I reversed the process before 
> returning to work.
> 
> What never ceases to amaze me about MS-SQL is the speed of 
> its backups. I always did a complete (as opposed to 
> differential) backup on a db that was about 300 Megs and it 
> NEVER took more than a couple of minutes -- it was WAY faster 
> than copying the actual files from one dir to another. RARing 
> it took a little longer but compressed it magnificently, and 
> the FTP from home took only a few minutes. Restore a BOOM, 
> data identical to what I just left at work!
> 
> I would stay away from trying to copy the actual MDF and LDF 
> files and instead go with Backup and Restore.
> 
> Arthur
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf 
> Of Andy Lacey
> Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 2:49 AM
> To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
> Subject: [dba-SQLServer] File extensions
> 
> 
> Sent this hours ago but hasn't appeared, hence trying again  
> -  so apologies in advance when the original turns up.
> 
> Hello good people on this wet and windy Autumn evening in the UK
> 
> Simple question from a simple soul. I keep a weather eye on 
> the SQL server list but never having actually developed a SQL 
> system my question
> is: if I go to look at a client's existing system how can I 
> tell if it is SQL (which I think it is)? Would file suffixes 
> tell me, or can a developer call a database anything he/she 
> likes? And if the file suffixes are the answer what are the 
> magic three letters? Going on from there, if I was offered 
> the opportunity to take the data away to have a look at it 
> can I just zip up a file or two, and if so what would I need 
> in order to be able to read the data in Access when I got back home?
> 
> -- Andy Lacey
> http://www.minstersystems.co.uk
> 
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