Category: Reliability
Item: SIMPLE recovery model usage
What is the SIMPLE recovery model in SQL Server?
Simple Recovery Model is the basic recovery model available in SQL Server. You cannot back up to an exact given point of time using simple recovery, only till the last Full or Differential backup.
The Full Recovery mode, when managed properly, allows a database to be restored to a definite point in time.
Should I use SIMPLE recovery model?
Simple Recovery Model is not ideal for situations where the user cannot afford to lose data.
Think about how much data loss you can afford to have. (It is simple to setup SQL backup in the way so you’d only lose 2 minutes max without any downsides.) This is called, Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
- Think about how much downtime you can afford to have in case of failure. That is the Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
- Both of those terms together add up to the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Based on those, we can now design appropriate backups plans (fulls, differentials and transactional).
