SqlBak Blog

How to enable WAL file summarization in PostgreSQL

Starting from version 17, PostgreSQL introduced native support for incremental backups, enabling more efficient and storage-friendly backup strategies. One of the key requirements for incremental backups is enabling WAL (Write-Ahead Log) file summarization. This article explains how to enable WAL summarization by updating PostgreSQL configuration settings. 1. Backup the Configuration File Before making any changes, … Read more

Incremental PostgreSQL backups on Windows

Backup is a critical part of database operations. Incremental backups can significantly reduce the performance load on a PostgreSQL server. This article covers the process of creating incremental backups of PostgreSQL on Windows, as well as restoring them. What is an Incremental Backup? An incremental backup is not a backup of the entire database, but … Read more

How to change the recovery model on SQL Server

A recovery model is a database property that determines when the transaction log is cleared. The transaction log is a binary file associated with the database, typically with the .ldf extension. It records all transactions performed by users in the database. The transaction log serves two primary purposes: Database recovery after failures. For instance, if a … Read more

Usage of a specific version of database client libraries in the SqlBak Docker container

By default, the SqlBak Docker container includes client utilities for working with databases, such as sqlcmd, mysql, mysqldump, psql, pg_dump, and pg_restore. However, these utilities may not be backward compatible with older database versions. For example, when connecting to a MySQL 8.1 database using the mysqldump utility from the Docker container, which is designed for MySQL … Read more

Backup MySQL Docker container

If your MySQL database is running in Docker, backing it up is no more complicated than backing up a database installed directly on the server. However, there are tips, tricks, and best practices that can simplify the process. Backup the database, not the container Although MySQL in Docker is ultimately just a program interacting with … Read more

SQL Server differential backup: fast guide

One of the types of backup in MSSQL is the “differential” backup. This article will cover what differential (diff) backups are, how to create and restore them, as well as their specific features and best practices.

What is differential backup in SQL Server?

Differential backups are backups that do not contain all the data but only the changes made since the last full database backup. When you perform an INSERT or UPDATE operation on a record in a table, it does not change the entire database file but only a small portion of it. It is precisely these small changes that are captured in a differential backup.

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Third party backup tools for SQL Server

In this article, we will review software designed for backing up SQL Server. Each tool has its own features and can be useful depending on the size of your architecture, availability of qualified specialists, financial resources and other factors. Free tools SQL Server Management Studio + SQL Server Agent The main tool for working with … Read more