Backup Microsoft SQL Server Databases to Amazon S3

Before going into the finer details of migrating Microsoft SQL Server databases to Amazon S3, it is necessary to understand why businesses are today increasingly opting for this process. In today’s data-driven environment, S3 offers several key benefits that help to increase operational efficiencies of organizations.

Some of them are given below.

•Affordable storage option is one of the main reasons for migrating databases from Microsoft SQL Server to S3. Charges are in proportion to the volume of storage used. For example, based on access patterns, S3 Storage Class Analysis allows you to load data to lower-cost storage sections through the S3 Lifecycle policy.

•Usage of storage resources can be scaled up or down as per requirement, paying only for the quantum of resources used. Hence by moving databases from SQL Server to S3, businesses can meet sudden demand for additional storage resources without having to invest in hardware and software.

•A huge advantage of loading databases from SQL Server to S3is that users can avail the data storage and protection capabilities of the Amazon Partner Network, the biggest of all consulting cloud providers. Management access tools and encryption features block unauthorized users and ensure strict data security once data is stored in S3.

There are several ways of backing up data from SQL Server to S3.

Manual Backup

The following steps are required for manual backup of database SQL Server to S3.

• Create an S3 bucket on Amazon Web Service (AWS)

• Establish necessary permissions and a user account so that access to the storage bucket can be had by using IAM.

• Export the database in SQL Server to the file where the backup is to be located.

• Upload the file with the exported data to S3. This can be done either through the S3 interface or with a tool like the PowerShell or MSP360Explorer. Both are equally effective.

The main advantage of this method is that it is simple and easy to perform in cases of one-off backup of databases from SQL Server to S3.

Continual Backup

MSP360 enables backup of SQL Server databases to S3 automatically on a routine basis. All that you have to do is run the wizard and select S3 as the target backup storage. Not only does MSP360 allow you to run SQL Server databases to AWS S3 regularly, it also ensures quick recovery of databases if required.

Image-based Backup

By performing an image-based backup with MSP360, you can run a cloud disaster recovery solution.The database has to be backed up to a virtual EC2 machine instance in the AWS cloud. Whenever the data has to be recovered, an instance can be started with a few clicks on the MSP360 Backup and the data will be restored immediately.

As is seen here, there are several approaches to backup data from SQL Server to S3depending on the specific needs of businesses.