Avamar: SQL 2012 AlwaysOn backup fails with "The server principal is not able to access the database under the current security context

Summary: Avamar: SQL 2012 AlwaysOn backup fails with "The server principal is not able to access the database under the current security context

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Symptoms

SQL 2012 AlwaysOn backups may fail on the secondary node with an error message similar to the following below:

avsql Error <40088>: sqlconnectimpl_smo::execute Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Common.ExecutionFailureException: An exception occurred while executing a Transact-SQL statement or batch. ---> System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: The server principal "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" is not able to access the database "Staging" under the current security context.

Cause

The NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account, or domain user account that is configured to start the Backup Agent service, does not have sufficient permissions to backup the SQL databases on the secondary node of the SQL 2012 AlwaysOn cluster where the backup is taking place.

Resolution

Grant the sysadmin role to the account that is configured for the avagent service.  The following KB article provides detailed steps for how to do so in SQL Server Management Studio:

Avamar: SQL backup failing with "BACKUP DATABASE permission denied in database" error

Affected Products

Avamar

Products

Avamar, Avamar Plug-in for SQL
Article Properties
Article Number: 000063937
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 05 Mar 2025
Version:  4
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