Restoring Commerce Server Databases

Article
11/12/2009

Restoring a database backup returns the database to the same state it was in when the backup was created. When you restore a database, SQL Server recreates the database and all of its associated files automatically by performing the following steps:

All of the data from the backup is copied into the database; the rest of the database is created as empty space.
Any uncommitted transactions in the database backup (transactions that were not complete when the backup operation completed originally) are rolled back (undone) to ensure that the database remains consistent.

This process ensures that the restored database is a copy of the database as it existed when the backup operation completed, except that all uncommitted transactions have been rolled back. This is required to restore the integrity of the database.

Additionally, to prevent overwriting a database unintentionally, the restore operation can perform a safety check automatically. The restore operation fails if:

The database named in the restore operation already exists on the server and the database name does not match the database name recorded in the backup set.
The database named in the restore operation already exists on the server, but it is not the same database as the database contained in the database backup. For example, the database names are the same, but each database was created differently.
One or more files need to be created automatically by the restore operation (regardless of whether the database already exists), but files with the same file name as those that need to be created already exist.

These safety checks can be disabled if the intention is to overwrite another database.

Every business recovery plan must include backup and restoration strategies. When a domain controller fails, either due to environmental hazards or due to equipment malfunction, you should first repair the domain controller itself and then recover the data. Two features of Microsoft Active Directory directory service enable it to recover lost data: the database uses log files to recover lost data, and the directory service uses replication to recover data from other servers in the domain.

There are two methods of restoring Active Directory:

Non-authoritative restore (the default). Use when at least one other domain controller in the domain is available and working. After a non-authoritative restore, Active Directory replication automatically begins propagating any changes from other domain controllers that occurred after the time of the backup.
Authoritative restore. Use only when you have accidentally deleted critical data from the local domain controller and the delete has propagated out to other domain controllers.

Note
- Do not perform an authoritative restore if the local domain controller is not a working domain controller or if it is the only domain controller in the domain.

You can use one of several tools to repair the domain controller and recover Active Directory. For more information about Windows 2000 business protection, including backups, restores, and repairs, see the Windows 2000 Server Operations Guide, which is part of the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit, available at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=6684. Also, see Windows 2000 Server Help.

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Restoring Commerce Server Databases

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