Log Shipping

Log Shipping is a form of transaction log backup that involves backing up the transaction logs on a primary server and then replaying those logs on a secondary server. This process allows the secondary server to have a nearly real-time copy of the primary server, providing a high level of data protection in the event of a failure on the primary server.

Why Log Shipping?

Log Shipping is a valuable tool for maintaining high availability and disaster recovery for databases in a number of different scenarios. Some of the benefits of Log Shipping include:

• Data protection: Log Shipping provides a near real-time copy of the primary server, ensuring that data loss is minimized in the event of a failure.
• High availability: Log Shipping can be used to create a hot standby server that can be quickly activated in the event of a failure on the primary server, minimizing downtime.
• Disaster recovery: Log Shipping can be used to create a disaster recovery site that is geographically separated from the primary server, providing protection against catastrophic events such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

How Does Log Shipping Work?

Log Shipping involves three main steps:

1. Backup the transaction logs: The transaction logs on the primary server are backed up regularly, typically every 15 minutes or less.
2. Transfer the transaction logs: The backed-up transaction logs are then transferred to the secondary server.
3. Replay the transaction logs: The secondary server replays the transaction logs, applying the changes to its own database.