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Backing Up Databases

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BecauseBizTalk Server uses distributed transactions across multiple databases, the Backup BizTalk Server job creates synchronized backups of all BizTalk Server databases. This is accomplished by using marked transactions with the “Full” database recovery model. This is required for the backups to be transactionally consistent across databases. For more information, see "Marked Transactions, Full Backups, and Log Backups" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=151565) in the BizTalk Server documentation.

Advantages of the Backup BizTalk Server Job

The Backup BizTalk Server job is the only supported method for backing up the BizTalk Server databases. Use of SQL Server jobs to back up the BizTalk Server databases in a production environment is not supported.

If the Backup BizTalk Server job is not run, the BizTalk Server database transaction logs will grow unbounded. The backup job truncates the transaction logs, which keep them from growing unbounded. If the BizTalk Server database transaction logs continue to grow, they could at some point fill the disk they are housed on.

Note

Using both the Backup BizTalk Server job and log shipping is currently the only fully documented and supported method for performing BizTalk Server database backup and restore.

Guidelines for the Backup BizTalk Server Job

You should restore the entire BizTalk Server environment on a regular basis. This includes not only the SQL server(s) and the BizTalk Server databases, but also the computers running BizTalk Server. You should document and practice these procedures before a failure actually occurs.

Note

The Backup BizTalk Server job does not delete old backup files. You must define and put processes in place to archive the old backup files and move them from the backup directory that the backup job uses.

Additional Resources

See the following topics in the BizTalk Server documentation:

See Also

Using BizTalk Server Log Shipping for Disaster Recovery