PowerProtect Data Manager 19.15 Microsoft SQL Server User Guide

Centralized restores of Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine backups

When Microsoft SQL Server data is backed up as part of a virtual machine application-aware protection policy in PowerProtect Data Manager, you can restore the Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine backups by using the centralized restore functionality in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI.

You can perform the following types of centralized restores of Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine backups, depending on the type of database assets:

• Centralized restore of a system database
• Centralized restore of a stand-alone database
• Centralized restore of an Always On availability group (AAG) database

You can restore single or multiple databases from the same Microsoft SQL Server host and instance. You can restore the databases either to the original Microsoft SQL Server host or to an alternate Microsoft SQL Server host with the following requirements:

• The alternate host must be a Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine.

• The Microsoft application agent software must be installed and configured on the alternate host, as described in Application agent manual installation and configuration.

  NOTE:When you install the Microsoft application agent to perform a restore of a Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine backup to an alternate Microsoft SQL Server host, ensure that the host was not previously registered to PowerProtect Data Manager as an Application Direct host.
• You cannot restore a system database to an alternate host or Microsoft SQL Server instance.

You must perform all centralized restores from the Restore > Assets > SQL window in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI. You can perform a centralized restore of a full or transaction log backup to a specified Microsoft SQL Server host and instance. Select one of the following restore options to specify the file system location where the databases are restored:

• Original file location (location at backup time)—Restores the backup data to the file directory that was used during the backup and overwrites the existing contents.

  NOTE:If the directory path cannot be created during the centralized restore, the restore fails.
• Default file location as set by Microsoft SQL Server—Restores the backup data to the default file directory as used by the Microsoft SQL Server.
• User-specified file location—Restores the backup data to file directories that you specify for the database files and log files.

The following topics describe the considerations, prerequisites, and procedures for the supported types of centralized restores of Microsoft SQL Server virtual machine backups.